In a five-set thriller that was decided by a total of 11 points, the FGCU volleyball team (27-5) dropped a heartbreaker to Kennesaw State (22-8) in the A-SUN championship match in Alico Arena on Saturday.
With the victory, Kennesaw State secured the A-SUN's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, while the Eagles will have to wait and see if they get an at-large bid.
"Definitely proud, not surprised at all," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said of his team's comeback from two sets down. "That's been the hallmark of this team all season long, their toughness and grit. That's a lineup, after the second set, that we haven't played at all this year. For them to be able to adapt and put themselves in a position to get to the fifth set, just to get there alone was an accomplishment considering how things looked previously. Obviously, we would have liked a different result, but I just loved the way they performed tonight."
It was the fifth straight season that either Kennesaw State ended FGCU's season or vice versa, and it was the third consecutive season the two teams met in the championship match. The latest outing didn't disappoint as Saturday's match featured 54 ties and 25 lead changes. Outside of the second set, neither team held a lead of more than three points the entire match.
In the first set, which featured 11 ties and six lead changes, FGCU trailed 23-20 before rallying to earn a set point following a kill from junior Cortney VanLiew. However, Kennesaw State stuffed an attack and responded with the final three points for a 27-25 win. The momentum continued as the Owls opened up a 16-8 lead in the second set. FGCU rallied to pull within 24-22, but Quin Sutphin's kill gave Kennesaw State a two-set lead.
Following that, things got really interesting, starting with a wild third set that featured 18 ties, seven lead changes and neither team leading by more than two points. Trailing 21-19, FGCU reeled off three straight points, capped by a solo block from sophomore Tori Morris. After their first set point was stopped, freshman Shelby Beisner was forced to play front row after a substitution mishap. All she did was team with sophomore Chelsey Lockey to stuff a Lexi Broadwater attack and give FGCU the set.
The Eagles opened the fourth set with four of the first five points, but Kennesaw State responded, eventually led 23-21 and appeared to be on the verge of clinching the match. Senior Daniele Serrano teamed with junior Snowy Burnam on a block, however, and redshirt senior Amanda Carroll followed with back-to-back kills to give the Eagles a set point. A kill from Sutphin tied it up, but back-to-back double-blocks from FGCU gave the Green and Blue a 26-24 win and forced a fifth set.
The final set, which featured 10 ties and five lead changes, saw the Eagles hold leads of 10-8 and 12-10. Kennesaw State, however, responded with five of the final six points, including the final two, to clinch the match.
For FGCU, Saturday night featured a vintage performance from the program's all-time kills leader, Carroll, who produced a season-high 14 kills at a .400 clip along with 15 digs for her 44th career double-double. It was her eighth double-digit dig performance of the season.
VanLiew finished with a team-high 15 kills along with 11 digs and four block assists. Her 67 attacks is tied for the fifth most in a match in the program's Division I era. It was her eighth double-double of the season and the 27th of her career.
Serrano, who became the A-SUN's all-time career blocks leader on Friday, tallied 10 kills and seven blocks (two solo) against the Owls. The 2018 A-SUN tournament MVP also hit .385.
As a team, FGCU totaled a Division I era single-match record 35 blocks (five solo). The Green and Blue's 30 block assists also ties their Oct. 7, 2018 performance against Lipscomb for the most by a team in the Division I era.
The record-breaking night for the team was led by a record-breaking night individually from Morris, who had 12 blocks (three solo), which is the most in any Division I era match - topping five other previous outings of 10, including three from Serrano.
Defensively, sophomore Dana Axner had a team-high 30 digs. She finished the tournament with two 30-plus dig performances, which gives her three such performances in her career - led by a 39-dig outing last year against West Virginia. She also has at least 27 digs in three of four career ASUN tournament matches, and she now has the top two single-season dig totals in the Division I era.
Lockey recorded a team-high 49 assists along with nine digs and a career-high six blocks. She also added one ace.
Notes:
FGCU had never come back from down two sets at home to win a match in program history, and they had produced only three such performances on the road. On Saturday, they nearly did before the Owls closed the match on a 5-1 run.
The Eagles had their 21-match home winning streak snapped in the loss. It was tied with Texas for the third-longest streak in the nation.
FGCU will have to wait and see if they receive one of the NCAA's at-large bids. The selection show occurs next Sunday, Dec. 1.
Axner and Morris were named to the all-tournament team.
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Showing posts with label FGCU Indoor Volleyball 2019. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FGCU Indoor Volleyball 2019. Show all posts
FGCU VB vs Lipscomb: ASUN Tournament Semifinals Recap
The #1 seed FGCU volleyball team (27-4) advanced to the championship match in A-SUN Conference Tournament for the fourth straight season as they beat #4 seed Lipscomb (16-12) 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 21-25, 25-23). With the win, the Eagles are now 12-16 against the Lady Bison and will face #2 seed Kennesaw State (21-8), who defeated Liberty (19-11) 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-20) in the second semifinals match.
"In that fourth set, there was a few moments where I was wondering where that competitive spirit was," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "We got down four or five points and all it takes is one play. I think it was Tori that got a big block, and we felt the energy start to shift. More than that, the execution level improved. Our first contact was much better towards the second half of that final set, and it allowed us to do some things offensively. At that point, Lipscomb was really making it difficult for our hitters, so it was nice that we were able to get that."
"First off, congrats to Florida Gulf Coast," head coach Brandon Rosenthal said. "That was a very high-level match and its tough to be on the bad side of it, but in the end, I asked our players to give it everything they had and they did. I couldn't be more proud of this group and everything they represented. They truly embody what we want this program to be all about and tonight's performance was awesome. Awesome to watch, awesome to be apart of and awesome to lead."
A-SUN Quarterfinals:
Prior to the semifinals, Lipscomb defeated #5 Stetson (12-15) 3-1 (18-25, 25-19, 30-28, 25-20) while #3 seed Liberty defeated #6 seed UNF (15-18) 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-17).
Lipscomb: “First off, this was a gritty performance by our girls,” Rosenthal said in the quarterfinals. “Stetson is a tough team to play against and they caused us problems in each of the matches we’ve played them this year with their defensive pressure. I am really, really proud of the girls for battling through more mentally than anything. When you have that back up against the wall mentality it wears on you, but I am proud of them and the way they played tonight.”
Stetson: "Overall, it was a good season," Stetson head coach Yang Deng said. "There are moments we have to learn that being consistently good is how the results come. When you get to a certain level, the margin for error gets smaller and smaller. That means you have to be even more consistent. You have to earn your points and play your own game at the highest level."
Liberty: "All glory to God, what a great team win tonight," said head coach Trevor Johnson. "I'm so proud of everyone stepping up and doing their jobs! I thought we did a great job of dealing with the adversity of losing the first set and responded to the challenge. We showed a lot of heart tonight! I loved the energy from our bench as well!"
UNF: "The girls showed up in the first set and they were ready to play," head coach Kristen Wright said. "We really had a great game plan and it threw them off their heels. Even in the second set we outscored them, although unforced errors, matchups and their two big players put balls away [Amelia Johnson and Casey Goodwin]. The thing I leave with this is that it was a tight match and we had four or five underclassmen on the court and it's exciting that we are returning 15 players. We have a lot of work to do but we are bringing in some nice pieces."
Going to the semifinals, it was the duo of junior A-SUN Player of the Year and A-SUN All-Conference First Team and All-Academic Team member Cortney VanLiew and A-SUN Freshman of the Year Erin Shoemaker that took over the majority of the Eagles defense as they finished with 16 kills each. VanLiew was two digs shy of a double-double as she added eight digs, a block and an assist, while Shoemaker added four blocks and three digs.
Sophomore Tori Morris was two blocks shy of a double-double as she rounded out the Eagles in double-digit kills as she finished with 10 kills and eight blocks.
Sophomore All-Conference Second Team member Chelsea Lockey finished two digs shy of a double-double as she finished with 52 assists, eight digs, an ace and two blocks.
Junior All-Conference Second Team member Snowy Burnam finished with seven kills, eight digs and five blocks, while redshirt senior Amanda Carroll added one kill, one ace and eight digs and freshman Shelby Beisner added one ace and two digs.
Senior All-Conference Second Team member Daniele Serrano made A-SUN history as she surpassed ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks in the A-SUN finishing with 475. In the match, Serrano had five kills, four blocks (one solo) and a dig. With her five kills, Serrano now has 817 career kills (eighth all-time) and is 21 shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time.
"It means a lot to me," Serrano said. "Before college, I wasn't much of a stats person. I never looked at the numbers. It wasn't a big deal. Once I got here, into my sophomore year, Matt (Botsford) made it kind of based around stats. If our numbers are good, we're doing good and we strive for certain numbers. So, to earn this title feels amazing. I take pride that I'm literally protecting my team when I'm blocking. It means a lot more than you would know. I honestly didn't know if I got it because I wasn't blocking great tonight, but I'm glad that I did."
Sophomore A-SUN Defensive Player of the Year and A-SUN All-Conference First Team member Dana Axner finished with 33 digs.
Senior Megan Kuper led the Lady Bison with a double-double of 15 kills and 15 digs to go along with an ace, three assists and three blocks. Classmate Morgan Elmore also had a double-double of 55 assists and 11 digs while adding four kills and two blocks.
Junior Samantha Rubal also had 15 kills and added nine blocks (two solo) while defensively, classmate Alyssa Zwolensky added 26 digs.
"I think when you think about this team you think about the three seniors: Morgan Elmore, Megan Sullivan and Maddie Phillips," Rosenthal said. "These three individuals gave everything they've ever had to this program. They've laid it all on the line and have done so since day one, so it's not often we can look to a group who completely left it all out there and they have nothing to hang their heads about by any means."
Lipscomb fought off three straight set points in the first frame only to see the Eagles claim the early lead behind a kill from Serrano. After FGCU won the second set, the Bison really made things interesting. First, they used a late 4-0 run to claim the third set. In the next frame, they led 13-8 and appeared to be on the way to forcing a winner-take-all set. However, Shomaker and Morris teamed up for a block, VanLiew produced three kills and the Eagles knotted things up with a 6-1 run. Five more ties later, the Eagles got back-to-back points to take a 23-21 lead and closed the two-point win with a kill from Burnam.
"I thought our girls played with everything they had from the very first point and never let up," Rosenthal said. "Mistakes were made throughout the match and I think both coaches can say that there's an error here, an error there, but I think in the end, what you ultimately hope for is girls going for it and that's just what we had. I thought our defense tonight was just stellar. Stellar from the standpoint of the pressure that we continued to put on them."
Notes:
VanLiew's 16 kills put her up to 1,198 in her career, while her eight digs put her at 746. VanLiew needs 20 more digs to surpass Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time. VanLiew also remains in a battle with Carroll, who has 1,469 career after getting one against Lipscomb.
Morris' eight blocks were all block assists, which put her at 174 total blocks (154 block assists) which surpassed Lauren Tutwiler (170, 2014-15) for 12th all-time while also surpassing Sharonda Pickering (152, 2017-18) and Elenora Kazarian (153, 2014-15) for 12th all-time in block assists. Morris needs two total blocks to surpass Pickering (155, 2017-18) for 11th all-time, while in block assists she needs 22 to surpass Devon Watts (195, 2004-05) for ninth all-time while being in a neck and neck battle with Burnam.
"Tori was outstanding," Botsford said. "We felt really good about the matchup, and I have felt really good about the way Tori has been playing the last few weeks in practice and in preparation. The set volume was upped, and she did a tremendous job with it. She was a really good decision maker and, in the fourth set, she made some huge plays for us at the net. I'm really happy for her. She works really hard, and she's an X factor for this team."
Lockey's 52 assists put her at 1,641 career assists and remains 168 shy of surpassing Laura Manovill (1,809, 2004-05) for fourth all-time.
Burnam's seven kills helped her surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time as she now has 651 career kills. Her eight digs put her at 586 in her career, while the five blocks, that were all block assists, put her at 182 (170th block assist), which surpassed Kaitlin Holm (167, 2011-13) for seventh all-time. Burnam needs 14 kills to surpass Watts (664, 2004-05) for 13th all-time and 14 digs to become the 17th Eagle to reach 600 digs and 15 to surpass Christine Pinder (603, 2012-13) for 16th all-time. In blocking Burnam needs seven block assists to surpass Karina Mambuca (177, 2012-13) for sixth all-time, while her next milestone in total blocks is Devon Watts (195, 2004-05) for ninth all-time in which she needs 14 to do so.
Carroll's lone ace put her at 136 in her career and needs four more to surpass Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) as the all-time program leader in career aces. Her eight digs put her at 1,232 in her career and remains 138 shy of surpassing Brooke Youngquist-Sweat (1,369, 2004-07) for fourth all-time.
Axner's 33 digs were a season-high and a new career-high in a four-set match. she now has 1,168 digs in her career while remaining neck and neck with Carroll.
Botsford earned his 142nd career win with FGCU and 383rd overall. Longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 293rd career win with the Eagles and 320th overall, while second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 81st.
"In that fourth set, there was a few moments where I was wondering where that competitive spirit was," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "We got down four or five points and all it takes is one play. I think it was Tori that got a big block, and we felt the energy start to shift. More than that, the execution level improved. Our first contact was much better towards the second half of that final set, and it allowed us to do some things offensively. At that point, Lipscomb was really making it difficult for our hitters, so it was nice that we were able to get that."
"First off, congrats to Florida Gulf Coast," head coach Brandon Rosenthal said. "That was a very high-level match and its tough to be on the bad side of it, but in the end, I asked our players to give it everything they had and they did. I couldn't be more proud of this group and everything they represented. They truly embody what we want this program to be all about and tonight's performance was awesome. Awesome to watch, awesome to be apart of and awesome to lead."
A-SUN Quarterfinals:
Prior to the semifinals, Lipscomb defeated #5 Stetson (12-15) 3-1 (18-25, 25-19, 30-28, 25-20) while #3 seed Liberty defeated #6 seed UNF (15-18) 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-17).
Lipscomb: “First off, this was a gritty performance by our girls,” Rosenthal said in the quarterfinals. “Stetson is a tough team to play against and they caused us problems in each of the matches we’ve played them this year with their defensive pressure. I am really, really proud of the girls for battling through more mentally than anything. When you have that back up against the wall mentality it wears on you, but I am proud of them and the way they played tonight.”
Stetson: "Overall, it was a good season," Stetson head coach Yang Deng said. "There are moments we have to learn that being consistently good is how the results come. When you get to a certain level, the margin for error gets smaller and smaller. That means you have to be even more consistent. You have to earn your points and play your own game at the highest level."
Liberty: "All glory to God, what a great team win tonight," said head coach Trevor Johnson. "I'm so proud of everyone stepping up and doing their jobs! I thought we did a great job of dealing with the adversity of losing the first set and responded to the challenge. We showed a lot of heart tonight! I loved the energy from our bench as well!"
UNF: "The girls showed up in the first set and they were ready to play," head coach Kristen Wright said. "We really had a great game plan and it threw them off their heels. Even in the second set we outscored them, although unforced errors, matchups and their two big players put balls away [Amelia Johnson and Casey Goodwin]. The thing I leave with this is that it was a tight match and we had four or five underclassmen on the court and it's exciting that we are returning 15 players. We have a lot of work to do but we are bringing in some nice pieces."
Going to the semifinals, it was the duo of junior A-SUN Player of the Year and A-SUN All-Conference First Team and All-Academic Team member Cortney VanLiew and A-SUN Freshman of the Year Erin Shoemaker that took over the majority of the Eagles defense as they finished with 16 kills each. VanLiew was two digs shy of a double-double as she added eight digs, a block and an assist, while Shoemaker added four blocks and three digs.
Sophomore Tori Morris was two blocks shy of a double-double as she rounded out the Eagles in double-digit kills as she finished with 10 kills and eight blocks.
Sophomore All-Conference Second Team member Chelsea Lockey finished two digs shy of a double-double as she finished with 52 assists, eight digs, an ace and two blocks.
Junior All-Conference Second Team member Snowy Burnam finished with seven kills, eight digs and five blocks, while redshirt senior Amanda Carroll added one kill, one ace and eight digs and freshman Shelby Beisner added one ace and two digs.
Senior All-Conference Second Team member Daniele Serrano made A-SUN history as she surpassed ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks in the A-SUN finishing with 475. In the match, Serrano had five kills, four blocks (one solo) and a dig. With her five kills, Serrano now has 817 career kills (eighth all-time) and is 21 shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time.
"It means a lot to me," Serrano said. "Before college, I wasn't much of a stats person. I never looked at the numbers. It wasn't a big deal. Once I got here, into my sophomore year, Matt (Botsford) made it kind of based around stats. If our numbers are good, we're doing good and we strive for certain numbers. So, to earn this title feels amazing. I take pride that I'm literally protecting my team when I'm blocking. It means a lot more than you would know. I honestly didn't know if I got it because I wasn't blocking great tonight, but I'm glad that I did."
Sophomore A-SUN Defensive Player of the Year and A-SUN All-Conference First Team member Dana Axner finished with 33 digs.
Senior Megan Kuper led the Lady Bison with a double-double of 15 kills and 15 digs to go along with an ace, three assists and three blocks. Classmate Morgan Elmore also had a double-double of 55 assists and 11 digs while adding four kills and two blocks.
Junior Samantha Rubal also had 15 kills and added nine blocks (two solo) while defensively, classmate Alyssa Zwolensky added 26 digs.
"I think when you think about this team you think about the three seniors: Morgan Elmore, Megan Sullivan and Maddie Phillips," Rosenthal said. "These three individuals gave everything they've ever had to this program. They've laid it all on the line and have done so since day one, so it's not often we can look to a group who completely left it all out there and they have nothing to hang their heads about by any means."
Lipscomb fought off three straight set points in the first frame only to see the Eagles claim the early lead behind a kill from Serrano. After FGCU won the second set, the Bison really made things interesting. First, they used a late 4-0 run to claim the third set. In the next frame, they led 13-8 and appeared to be on the way to forcing a winner-take-all set. However, Shomaker and Morris teamed up for a block, VanLiew produced three kills and the Eagles knotted things up with a 6-1 run. Five more ties later, the Eagles got back-to-back points to take a 23-21 lead and closed the two-point win with a kill from Burnam.
"I thought our girls played with everything they had from the very first point and never let up," Rosenthal said. "Mistakes were made throughout the match and I think both coaches can say that there's an error here, an error there, but I think in the end, what you ultimately hope for is girls going for it and that's just what we had. I thought our defense tonight was just stellar. Stellar from the standpoint of the pressure that we continued to put on them."
Notes:
VanLiew's 16 kills put her up to 1,198 in her career, while her eight digs put her at 746. VanLiew needs 20 more digs to surpass Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time. VanLiew also remains in a battle with Carroll, who has 1,469 career after getting one against Lipscomb.
Morris' eight blocks were all block assists, which put her at 174 total blocks (154 block assists) which surpassed Lauren Tutwiler (170, 2014-15) for 12th all-time while also surpassing Sharonda Pickering (152, 2017-18) and Elenora Kazarian (153, 2014-15) for 12th all-time in block assists. Morris needs two total blocks to surpass Pickering (155, 2017-18) for 11th all-time, while in block assists she needs 22 to surpass Devon Watts (195, 2004-05) for ninth all-time while being in a neck and neck battle with Burnam.
"Tori was outstanding," Botsford said. "We felt really good about the matchup, and I have felt really good about the way Tori has been playing the last few weeks in practice and in preparation. The set volume was upped, and she did a tremendous job with it. She was a really good decision maker and, in the fourth set, she made some huge plays for us at the net. I'm really happy for her. She works really hard, and she's an X factor for this team."
Lockey's 52 assists put her at 1,641 career assists and remains 168 shy of surpassing Laura Manovill (1,809, 2004-05) for fourth all-time.
Burnam's seven kills helped her surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time as she now has 651 career kills. Her eight digs put her at 586 in her career, while the five blocks, that were all block assists, put her at 182 (170th block assist), which surpassed Kaitlin Holm (167, 2011-13) for seventh all-time. Burnam needs 14 kills to surpass Watts (664, 2004-05) for 13th all-time and 14 digs to become the 17th Eagle to reach 600 digs and 15 to surpass Christine Pinder (603, 2012-13) for 16th all-time. In blocking Burnam needs seven block assists to surpass Karina Mambuca (177, 2012-13) for sixth all-time, while her next milestone in total blocks is Devon Watts (195, 2004-05) for ninth all-time in which she needs 14 to do so.
Carroll's lone ace put her at 136 in her career and needs four more to surpass Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) as the all-time program leader in career aces. Her eight digs put her at 1,232 in her career and remains 138 shy of surpassing Brooke Youngquist-Sweat (1,369, 2004-07) for fourth all-time.
Axner's 33 digs were a season-high and a new career-high in a four-set match. she now has 1,168 digs in her career while remaining neck and neck with Carroll.
Botsford earned his 142nd career win with FGCU and 383rd overall. Longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 293rd career win with the Eagles and 320th overall, while second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 81st.
FGCU VB: A-SUN Conference Tournament Preview
With everything set in stone, the FGCU volleyball team (26-4) will now set their sites at the A-SUN Conference Tournament, but this time it will be on their grounds at the Alico Arena.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles closed out the regular season with one final road trip in Newark as they shutout NJIT 3-0. As a result of the win, the Eagles were named the A-SUN Regular Season Champions for the second straight year. In addition, the Eagles not only earned a spot in the A-SUN Conference Tournament, but are the number one seed and have earned a first round bye in the tournament.
New Recruits and Award Recognitions:
Before the matchups, this past Friday marked National Signing Day along with the A-SUN Conference announcing the winners of awards and members of honorable mentions. The Eagles signed two freshman so far for the 2020-21 school year, Hannah Rae Kivett and Julianna "Juju" Lentz.
Hannah Rae Kivett:
A setter from Chandler, Indiana, Kivett comes from Castle High School and is one of only 27 seniors nationally to be among PrepVolleyball.com's Senior Aces, is a three-time First Team All-Metro and All-SIAC selection. She was named her conference's player of the year as a senior and earned AVCA All-Region recognition. Throughout her career as a member of the Knights, Kivett broke her school's single-season record for assists. She played club for Evansville United under the director of Olivia Goldstein, while Daniel Watson was her coach at Castle.
"Hannah has all the tools to develop into a great collegiate setter, and I can't wait to get her in the gym to start working," Botsford said. "She has a wealth of experience within the position and knows how to run an efficient offense while understanding her role on the court. At 6-1, her height will benefit us as a blocking team and allow her to be an offensive threat as well. What really stands out is her dedication to the craft of setting. She is extremely motivated to learn and has the kind of work ethic that will accelerate her growth in a new environment."
"I chose FGCU because of their great volleyball program, coaching staff, beautiful campus and great location," Kivett said.
Juliana "Juju" Lentz:
A middle blocker from St. Brendan High School in Miami, Florida, Lentz led St. Brendan to the state semifinals for the first time in 39 years as a senior. She finished the season with 207 kills and 120 blocks while helping her team to a 25-5 record and earning all-county MVP recognition.
"Juliana possesses the type of physicality and athleticism that will make her a disruptive force at the net from the moment she walks in the gym," Botsford said. "Her combination of quickness and power off the floor is going to translate well into the offensive side of the game, and she is already showing a knack for blocking that will help our program right away. While Juliana is training a lot as a middle, she has the versatility to hit at different locations along the net, and I would expect we will look for opportunities to continue to develop those skills."
"I chose FGCU because of the amazing atmosphere and facilities on campus," Lentz said.
A-SUN Coach of the Year:
For the second straight season, head coach Matt Botsford was named A-SUN Coach of the Year. Since being named head coach for the Eagles in 2014, Botsford has compiled a combined 141 wins (95 shutouts) in all six seasons so far.
A-SUN Player of the Year:
For the second straight season, junior Cortney VanLiew was named A-SUN Player of the Year. VanLiew still leads the team with 392 kills, 26 aces, 203 digs and 48 blocks (nine solo). VanLiew had five kills, two aces, six digs and a block in the final match against NJIT.
In her career, VanLiew has 1,182 career kills in her career along with 738 career digs. VanLiew remains 28 digs shy of surpassing Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time and is in a battle with redshirt senior Amanda Carroll (1,468) to become the all-time leader in career kills. In solo blocks, VanLiew has 24 in her career and remains in a tie with Sharonda Pickering (24, 2017-18) for ninth all-time.
VanLiew was also named a member of the A-SUN All-Conference First Team and A-SUN All-Academic Team for her 3.9 GPA for the second straight season.
"Cortney has continued to evolve on the court this season, and it is evident by the strides she has made as a passer, a blocker and a server," Botsford said. "She has developed into a player that can impact the game in a variety of ways well beyond the great job she does as an attacker. To be awarded player of the year two years in a row is a remarkable achievement, and she has worked extremely hard to put herself in that position. "
A-SUN Defensive Player of the Year:
Sophomore Dana Axner was unanimously named the A-SUN Defensive Player of the Year after her defensive performance. Despite having only six digs and an ace against NJIT, Axner still has 511 digs (5.32 digs per set) and 26 aces in her name. Axner currently has 1,135 career digs and is in a neck and neck battle with Carroll (1,224 career digs) to surpass Brooke Youngquist-Sweat (1,369, 2004-07) for fourth all-time. Axner was also named a unanimous member of the A-SUN All-Conference First Team.
"Dana is among the most consistent and reliable players I have ever coached and to think she is only a sophomore really speaks to kind of competitor she is," Botsford said. "The job she does for us in the libero position has influenced our entire team defense, and this season she has taken that to another level. Dana's energy is infectious on the court and her commitment to her craft has helped make us a much more well-rounded team."
A-SUN Freshman of the Year:
The A-SUN Freshman of the Year award was earned by Erin Shoemaker. Shoemaker was second on the team with 215 kills and 39 blocks (seven solo). Shoemaker was also named a member of the A-SUN All-Freshman Team. Shoemaker became the third straight and fifth player overall in program history to win the conference's top freshman award, joining Axner (2018), Burnam (2017), Amanda Carroll (2015) and Jill Hopper (2011).
"I'm always so impressed by any freshman that can come in and find a way to contribute immediately," Botsford said. "That is a tough task for anyone. To see what Erin has been able to do on the court for us and how quickly she has done it, has been pretty amazing. She has already shown the ability to be a terminating player on the offensive end and she continues to make great strides as a blocker. Considering that we have used her along every position in the front row, her versatility has been a welcome and valued addition to this team."
A-SUN Setter of the Year:
Kennesaw's senior Lexi Broadwater was named A-SUN Setter of the Year for the second straight season. Broadwater has been one of the most dominant setters in the country this year, ranked second in the NCAA for assists per set (11.98) and fourth for total assists (1,246). She is one of 10 players in the country to average over 11.5 assists per set. The Fayetteville, Ga., native is one of four setters in the conference to record over 1,000 assists on the season. Apart from setting others up for success, Broadwater has tallied her fair share of points as well with 53 kills, 23 total blocks and 29 aces to go along with 173 digs to round out a stellar season.
A-SUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year:
Liberty's Amelia Johnson was named the A-SUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Johnson is the first Liberty player since Becca Haraf in 2012 (Big South) to be named a conference scholar-athlete of the year and is the fourth scholar-athlete of the year in program history. Johnson has had a breakthrough season this year. She is in the top 50 nationally with an A-SUN-leading 406 kills. During conference play, she led the A-SUN with 4.20 kills per set. She posted two 29-kill matches in league play, the first Lady Flame in rally-scoring history to score 29 or more kills twice in a career. Johnson has posted 23 double-digit kill matches (13 in A-SUN play) and a team-high-tying eight double-doubles (four in A-SUN). She is the first Liberty player since Caroline Douglas (2014) to score 400 or more kills in a season. Johnson carried a 4.0 GPA as an interdisciplinary studies major and is currently pursuing a master's degree in public health.
A-SUN All-Conference First Team:
Along with VanLiew and Axner, five other members were named to the A-SUN All-Conference First Team:
Broadwater (Kennesaw State)
Johnson (Liberty)
Lauren Chastang (Kennesaw State)
Quin Sutphin (Kennesaw State)
Anna Gregg (Liberty)
Serrano is fourth on the team in kills (197) and leads the team in blocks (109, 16 solo). Against NJIT, Serrano had four kills and five blocks (one solo). In her career, Serrano has 812 career kills (eighth all-time) and is 26 shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile in blocks, Serrano needs three to surpass Meredith Hardy (ETSU, 2010-13, 474.0) as the A-SUN's all-time leader in blocks.
"Dani has had another spectacular season, as we have grown to expect," Botsford said. "She is such a smart player and reads the game so well. It really is a joy to watch her compete. The impact she has on both the defensive and offensive sides of the ball is what has made her such an indispensable part of this unit for so long, and this year was no different. With four years of experience as a starter, she always seems to grasp the moment and understands how to influence a match in a positive way."
Burnam has 199 kills in her name along with 26 aces, 207 digs and 64 blocks (three solo). Burnam had 11 kills, an ace, two digs and a block against NJIT. In her career, Burnam has 644 career kills, 578 career digs and 177 career blocks (165th career block assists). Burnam is six kills shy of surpassing Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time, 22 digs shy of becoming the 17th Eagle to reach 600 digs and 23 to surpass Christine Pinder (603, 2012-13) for 16th all-time, three block assists to surpass Kaitlin Holm (167, 2011-13) for 10th all-time and 19 total blocks from surpassing Devon Watts (195, 2004-05) for ninth all-time.
"Snowy is a player who seems to get better every time she is out on the court," Botsford said. "Whether it is a practice or a match, you can see her processing the experience and how it influences her performance the next time out. This season she has made major strides as a blocker to complement a quality offensive game that really helps to free up some of our other hitters. Snowy is also one of our top point scorers from the service line along with being a very effective primary passer. She really does it all for us and helps to stabilize every phase of the game for this team."
Lockey has 1,113 assists, 26 aces, 215 digs and 55 blocks (five solo). Lockey had 36 assists, an ace, four digs and three blocks. In her career, Lockey has 1,589 career assists and remains 220 shy of surpassing Laura Manovill (1,809, 2004-05) for fourth all-time.
"I can't say enough about the job Chelsey has done this year," Botsford said. "I saw how hard she worked last spring and how committed she was to really embracing her role as our setter, but even then I expected it to take a bit more time. She showed early this season that she was ready and there was very little adjustment required before the offense became hers. She has played with a lot of poise for a sophomore in that position. Chelsey's consistency and creativity have been huge factors in our success."
Other players that joined Serrano, Burnam and Lockey are as listed:
Karlee Grover (Kennesaw State)
Casey Goodwin (Liberty)
Megan Kuper (Lipscomb)
Solimar Cestero (UNF)
A-SUN All-Freshman Team:
Joining Shoemaker on the A-SUN All-Freshman Team are as listed:
Sydney Bolding (Jacksonville)
Elena Djokovic (Stetson)
Emma Schurfranz (Kennesaw State)
Julianna Askew (UNF)
Rocio Moro (UNF)
Kaylee Oscarson (Stetson)
A-SUN All-Academic Team:
Joining VanLiew on the A-SUN All-Academic Team are as listed:
Johnson (Liberty)
Groover (Kennesaw State)
Morgan Elmore (Lipscomb)
Natalie Wehner (Jacksonville)
Hannah Morris (Liberty)
Olivia Welsch (NJIT)
"Seeing our players honored is always a proud moment, and I'm so happy for each of them," Botsford said. "These young women have worked extremely hard, and their dedication toward their own development has put them in a position where they are among the top players in our conference. Aside from the talents they each possess, it takes a special desire to push yourself outside of your comfort zone to grow those talents in the way that they have."
Tournament Seedings:
The seeds are listed as followed with the teams' overall records:
#1 FGCU (26-4)
#2 Kennesaw State (20-8)
#3 Liberty (18-10)
#4 Lipscomb (15-12)
#5 Stetson (12-14)
#6 UNF (15-27)
Jacksonville (10-21), North Alabama (4-25) and NJIT (1-31) did not qualify for the tournament due to their overall and conference records.
For Jacksonville, it was the second straight season that they have not reached the postseason.
For NJIT, this is the fifth straight year of not qualifying for the tournament. Once again, I'm not surprised that NJIT did not make the A-SUN Volleyball Tournament since they joined the A-SUN fall 2015.
Just like last season for North Alabama, it would not make much difference for them. If they would have won the conference tournament, let alone qualify for it, then they would not go to the national tournament due to the four-year transitional period and the regular season champions (FGCU) would go to the national tournament.
Scouting Kennesaw:
Offensively, Chastang leads the team with 405 kills. In the last match against Liberty, Chastang had a double-double of 21 kills and 13 digs to go along with .
Defensively, Sutphin and Brown take the reins. Sutphin is seond on the team in kills (306) while Brown is fifth (194). Both combine for 161 blocks (88 Sutphin, 81 Brown). In their last match against Liberty, Sutphin had 15 kills and three blocks while Brown had 13 kills and four blocks.
Grover leads the team with 497 digs (4.78 per set). In the last match against Liberty, Grover had 28 digs.
Scouting the Lady Bison:
Offensively, senior Maddie Phillips leads the team in kills (248) and 78 blocks. In the last match against Jacksonville, Phillips had 13 kills and three blocks.
Sophomore Garrett Joiner follows Phillips with 215 kills and 23 blocks. Joiner did not play against Jacksonville her last match.
Defensively, aside from Phillips, junior Samantha Rubal has 66 blocks in her name to go with 194 kills. In the last match against Jacksonville, Rubal had 13 kills and four blocks.
Junior Alyssa Zwolensky had 449 digs and 20 aces. Against Jacksonville, Zwolensky had 28 digs.
Scouting Liberty:
How to Keep Up to Date:
Livestats will be provided for all five matches and will air on ESPN+
Fans can also keep up on the teams' Twitter pages:
FGCU: @FGCU_VB
Kennesaw: @KSUOwlsVB
Lipscomb: @LipscombVBall
Liberty: @LibertyWVB
Stetson: @StetsonVB
UNF: @OspreyVB
ESPN+:
The A-SUN Conference Volleyball Tournament will air on the new, subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, which will be the new home for select FGCU and A-SUN games and event broadcasts. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month fee afterwards.
New Recruits and Award Recognitions:
Before the matchups, this past Friday marked National Signing Day along with the A-SUN Conference announcing the winners of awards and members of honorable mentions. The Eagles signed two freshman so far for the 2020-21 school year, Hannah Rae Kivett and Julianna "Juju" Lentz.
Hannah Rae Kivett:
A setter from Chandler, Indiana, Kivett comes from Castle High School and is one of only 27 seniors nationally to be among PrepVolleyball.com's Senior Aces, is a three-time First Team All-Metro and All-SIAC selection. She was named her conference's player of the year as a senior and earned AVCA All-Region recognition. Throughout her career as a member of the Knights, Kivett broke her school's single-season record for assists. She played club for Evansville United under the director of Olivia Goldstein, while Daniel Watson was her coach at Castle.
"Hannah has all the tools to develop into a great collegiate setter, and I can't wait to get her in the gym to start working," Botsford said. "She has a wealth of experience within the position and knows how to run an efficient offense while understanding her role on the court. At 6-1, her height will benefit us as a blocking team and allow her to be an offensive threat as well. What really stands out is her dedication to the craft of setting. She is extremely motivated to learn and has the kind of work ethic that will accelerate her growth in a new environment."
"I chose FGCU because of their great volleyball program, coaching staff, beautiful campus and great location," Kivett said.
Juliana "Juju" Lentz:
A middle blocker from St. Brendan High School in Miami, Florida, Lentz led St. Brendan to the state semifinals for the first time in 39 years as a senior. She finished the season with 207 kills and 120 blocks while helping her team to a 25-5 record and earning all-county MVP recognition.
"Juliana possesses the type of physicality and athleticism that will make her a disruptive force at the net from the moment she walks in the gym," Botsford said. "Her combination of quickness and power off the floor is going to translate well into the offensive side of the game, and she is already showing a knack for blocking that will help our program right away. While Juliana is training a lot as a middle, she has the versatility to hit at different locations along the net, and I would expect we will look for opportunities to continue to develop those skills."
"I chose FGCU because of the amazing atmosphere and facilities on campus," Lentz said.
A-SUN Coach of the Year:
For the second straight season, head coach Matt Botsford was named A-SUN Coach of the Year. Since being named head coach for the Eagles in 2014, Botsford has compiled a combined 141 wins (95 shutouts) in all six seasons so far.
A-SUN Player of the Year:
For the second straight season, junior Cortney VanLiew was named A-SUN Player of the Year. VanLiew still leads the team with 392 kills, 26 aces, 203 digs and 48 blocks (nine solo). VanLiew had five kills, two aces, six digs and a block in the final match against NJIT.
In her career, VanLiew has 1,182 career kills in her career along with 738 career digs. VanLiew remains 28 digs shy of surpassing Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time and is in a battle with redshirt senior Amanda Carroll (1,468) to become the all-time leader in career kills. In solo blocks, VanLiew has 24 in her career and remains in a tie with Sharonda Pickering (24, 2017-18) for ninth all-time.
VanLiew was also named a member of the A-SUN All-Conference First Team and A-SUN All-Academic Team for her 3.9 GPA for the second straight season.
"Cortney has continued to evolve on the court this season, and it is evident by the strides she has made as a passer, a blocker and a server," Botsford said. "She has developed into a player that can impact the game in a variety of ways well beyond the great job she does as an attacker. To be awarded player of the year two years in a row is a remarkable achievement, and she has worked extremely hard to put herself in that position. "
A-SUN Defensive Player of the Year:
Sophomore Dana Axner was unanimously named the A-SUN Defensive Player of the Year after her defensive performance. Despite having only six digs and an ace against NJIT, Axner still has 511 digs (5.32 digs per set) and 26 aces in her name. Axner currently has 1,135 career digs and is in a neck and neck battle with Carroll (1,224 career digs) to surpass Brooke Youngquist-Sweat (1,369, 2004-07) for fourth all-time. Axner was also named a unanimous member of the A-SUN All-Conference First Team.
"Dana is among the most consistent and reliable players I have ever coached and to think she is only a sophomore really speaks to kind of competitor she is," Botsford said. "The job she does for us in the libero position has influenced our entire team defense, and this season she has taken that to another level. Dana's energy is infectious on the court and her commitment to her craft has helped make us a much more well-rounded team."
A-SUN Freshman of the Year:
The A-SUN Freshman of the Year award was earned by Erin Shoemaker. Shoemaker was second on the team with 215 kills and 39 blocks (seven solo). Shoemaker was also named a member of the A-SUN All-Freshman Team. Shoemaker became the third straight and fifth player overall in program history to win the conference's top freshman award, joining Axner (2018), Burnam (2017), Amanda Carroll (2015) and Jill Hopper (2011).
"I'm always so impressed by any freshman that can come in and find a way to contribute immediately," Botsford said. "That is a tough task for anyone. To see what Erin has been able to do on the court for us and how quickly she has done it, has been pretty amazing. She has already shown the ability to be a terminating player on the offensive end and she continues to make great strides as a blocker. Considering that we have used her along every position in the front row, her versatility has been a welcome and valued addition to this team."
Kennesaw's senior Lexi Broadwater was named A-SUN Setter of the Year for the second straight season. Broadwater has been one of the most dominant setters in the country this year, ranked second in the NCAA for assists per set (11.98) and fourth for total assists (1,246). She is one of 10 players in the country to average over 11.5 assists per set. The Fayetteville, Ga., native is one of four setters in the conference to record over 1,000 assists on the season. Apart from setting others up for success, Broadwater has tallied her fair share of points as well with 53 kills, 23 total blocks and 29 aces to go along with 173 digs to round out a stellar season.
A-SUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year:
Liberty's Amelia Johnson was named the A-SUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Johnson is the first Liberty player since Becca Haraf in 2012 (Big South) to be named a conference scholar-athlete of the year and is the fourth scholar-athlete of the year in program history. Johnson has had a breakthrough season this year. She is in the top 50 nationally with an A-SUN-leading 406 kills. During conference play, she led the A-SUN with 4.20 kills per set. She posted two 29-kill matches in league play, the first Lady Flame in rally-scoring history to score 29 or more kills twice in a career. Johnson has posted 23 double-digit kill matches (13 in A-SUN play) and a team-high-tying eight double-doubles (four in A-SUN). She is the first Liberty player since Caroline Douglas (2014) to score 400 or more kills in a season. Johnson carried a 4.0 GPA as an interdisciplinary studies major and is currently pursuing a master's degree in public health.
A-SUN All-Conference First Team:
Along with VanLiew and Axner, five other members were named to the A-SUN All-Conference First Team:
Broadwater (Kennesaw State)
Johnson (Liberty)
Lauren Chastang (Kennesaw State)
Quin Sutphin (Kennesaw State)
Anna Gregg (Liberty)
A-SUN All-Conference Second Team:
Senior Daniele Serrano, junior Snowy Burnam and sophomore Chelsea Lockey were named members of the A-SUN All-Conference Second Team. For Serrano, this was the second straight season she was named on the second team.Serrano is fourth on the team in kills (197) and leads the team in blocks (109, 16 solo). Against NJIT, Serrano had four kills and five blocks (one solo). In her career, Serrano has 812 career kills (eighth all-time) and is 26 shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile in blocks, Serrano needs three to surpass Meredith Hardy (ETSU, 2010-13, 474.0) as the A-SUN's all-time leader in blocks.
"Dani has had another spectacular season, as we have grown to expect," Botsford said. "She is such a smart player and reads the game so well. It really is a joy to watch her compete. The impact she has on both the defensive and offensive sides of the ball is what has made her such an indispensable part of this unit for so long, and this year was no different. With four years of experience as a starter, she always seems to grasp the moment and understands how to influence a match in a positive way."
Burnam has 199 kills in her name along with 26 aces, 207 digs and 64 blocks (three solo). Burnam had 11 kills, an ace, two digs and a block against NJIT. In her career, Burnam has 644 career kills, 578 career digs and 177 career blocks (165th career block assists). Burnam is six kills shy of surpassing Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time, 22 digs shy of becoming the 17th Eagle to reach 600 digs and 23 to surpass Christine Pinder (603, 2012-13) for 16th all-time, three block assists to surpass Kaitlin Holm (167, 2011-13) for 10th all-time and 19 total blocks from surpassing Devon Watts (195, 2004-05) for ninth all-time.
"Snowy is a player who seems to get better every time she is out on the court," Botsford said. "Whether it is a practice or a match, you can see her processing the experience and how it influences her performance the next time out. This season she has made major strides as a blocker to complement a quality offensive game that really helps to free up some of our other hitters. Snowy is also one of our top point scorers from the service line along with being a very effective primary passer. She really does it all for us and helps to stabilize every phase of the game for this team."
Lockey has 1,113 assists, 26 aces, 215 digs and 55 blocks (five solo). Lockey had 36 assists, an ace, four digs and three blocks. In her career, Lockey has 1,589 career assists and remains 220 shy of surpassing Laura Manovill (1,809, 2004-05) for fourth all-time.
"I can't say enough about the job Chelsey has done this year," Botsford said. "I saw how hard she worked last spring and how committed she was to really embracing her role as our setter, but even then I expected it to take a bit more time. She showed early this season that she was ready and there was very little adjustment required before the offense became hers. She has played with a lot of poise for a sophomore in that position. Chelsey's consistency and creativity have been huge factors in our success."
Other players that joined Serrano, Burnam and Lockey are as listed:
Karlee Grover (Kennesaw State)
Casey Goodwin (Liberty)
Megan Kuper (Lipscomb)
Solimar Cestero (UNF)
A-SUN All-Freshman Team:
Joining Shoemaker on the A-SUN All-Freshman Team are as listed:
Sydney Bolding (Jacksonville)
Elena Djokovic (Stetson)
Emma Schurfranz (Kennesaw State)
Julianna Askew (UNF)
Rocio Moro (UNF)
Kaylee Oscarson (Stetson)
A-SUN All-Academic Team:
Joining VanLiew on the A-SUN All-Academic Team are as listed:
Johnson (Liberty)
Groover (Kennesaw State)
Morgan Elmore (Lipscomb)
Natalie Wehner (Jacksonville)
Hannah Morris (Liberty)
Olivia Welsch (NJIT)
"Seeing our players honored is always a proud moment, and I'm so happy for each of them," Botsford said. "These young women have worked extremely hard, and their dedication toward their own development has put them in a position where they are among the top players in our conference. Aside from the talents they each possess, it takes a special desire to push yourself outside of your comfort zone to grow those talents in the way that they have."
Tournament Seedings:
The seeds are listed as followed with the teams' overall records:
#1 FGCU (26-4)
#2 Kennesaw State (20-8)
#3 Liberty (18-10)
#4 Lipscomb (15-12)
#5 Stetson (12-14)
#6 UNF (15-27)
Jacksonville (10-21), North Alabama (4-25) and NJIT (1-31) did not qualify for the tournament due to their overall and conference records.
For Jacksonville, it was the second straight season that they have not reached the postseason.
For NJIT, this is the fifth straight year of not qualifying for the tournament. Once again, I'm not surprised that NJIT did not make the A-SUN Volleyball Tournament since they joined the A-SUN fall 2015.
Just like last season for North Alabama, it would not make much difference for them. If they would have won the conference tournament, let alone qualify for it, then they would not go to the national tournament due to the four-year transitional period and the regular season champions (FGCU) would go to the national tournament.
Scouting Kennesaw:
Offensively, Chastang leads the team with 405 kills. In the last match against Liberty, Chastang had a double-double of 21 kills and 13 digs to go along with .
Defensively, Sutphin and Brown take the reins. Sutphin is seond on the team in kills (306) while Brown is fifth (194). Both combine for 161 blocks (88 Sutphin, 81 Brown). In their last match against Liberty, Sutphin had 15 kills and three blocks while Brown had 13 kills and four blocks.
Grover leads the team with 497 digs (4.78 per set). In the last match against Liberty, Grover had 28 digs.
Scouting the Lady Bison:
Offensively, senior Maddie Phillips leads the team in kills (248) and 78 blocks. In the last match against Jacksonville, Phillips had 13 kills and three blocks.
Sophomore Garrett Joiner follows Phillips with 215 kills and 23 blocks. Joiner did not play against Jacksonville her last match.
Defensively, aside from Phillips, junior Samantha Rubal has 66 blocks in her name to go with 194 kills. In the last match against Jacksonville, Rubal had 13 kills and four blocks.
Junior Alyssa Zwolensky had 449 digs and 20 aces. Against Jacksonville, Zwolensky had 28 digs.
Scouting Liberty:
Offensively, Johnson, Goodwin and Gragg lead the Lady Flames on the offensive front. Johnson leads the team with 404 kills and 28 aces, while Goodwin is behind with 290 kills and Gragg with 243 kills.
Defensively, junior Macy Phillips leads the team in digs (472) while Gragg leads with 107 blocks.
Scouting the Lady Hatters:
Stetson clinched a spot in the A-SUN Tournament after shutting out NJIT. At one point, the Lady Hatters had an eight-match winning streak before the Eagles snapped it.
Offensively, senior Evi Deisa and Djokovic pave the way for the Hatters.
Redshirt junior Brianna Schmid also plays key for the Lady Hatters' defense as she leads in blocks (89). Against NJIT, the transfer from Robert Morris had two blocks and four kills.
Scouting UNF:
The Ospreys clinched the last spot in the A-SUN Tournament after sweeping North Alabama.
Cestero leads the Ospreys with 410 kills and 138 digs. Cestero had 21 kills and eight digs against North Alabama.
Senior Taryn Griffey has 347 kills and 80 blocks. Griffey had 14 kills and a block against North Alabama.
Redshirt sophomore Gabby O'Connell is third on the team with 228 kills while adding 105 digs. O'Connell had 10 kills and five digs against North Alabama.
Askew lead the team with 1,265 assists and 194 digs. Askew had a double-double of 49 assists and 10 digs against UNA.
Series History:
Against the Owls, the Eagles are 16-11 overall. FGCU defeated Kennesaw on October 13 at the Alico Arena, but then lost 3-1 at the KSU Convocation Center on November 8 to split the series. The win against the Owls helped the Eagles gain sole possession of first place.
FGCU is 11-16 overall against the Lipscomb. The Eagles swept the Lady Bison at home on September 29 before travelling to the Allen Arena on November 10 for their fourth sweep against Lipscomb overall (2012, 2017, 2018). Both matches were won by a score of 3-0.
The Eagles are 24-6 against the Ospreys. The Eagles shutout the Ospreys 3-0 at the UNF Arena on October 4 and at the Alico Arena on November 3 by a score of 3-0.
The Eagles are 23-2 overall against the Lady Hatters where they defeated them 3-1 on the road on October 5 and at home on senior night on November 1.
A-SUN Tournament Breakdown:
The A-SUN Conference Volleyball Tournament is a three-day single elimination tournament from Friday, November 21 to Sunday, November 23 and will take place at the Alico Arena.
FGCU and Kennesaw State are the top two seeds in the tournament (#1 FGCU, #2 KSU) and as a result, they will have a first-round bye and await the winners of the quarterfinals matches from the #3 to #6 seeds.
The Eagles will await #4 Lipscomb and #5 Stetson, while the Owls await #3 Liberty and #6 UNF.
Lipscomb and Stetson will play at 5 P.M. and Liberty and UNF will follow at 7:30 P.M. on November 21.
What's at Stake:
The winners of quarterfinals will play at 5 P.M. (vs FGCU) and 7:30 P.M. (vs Kennesaw) on November 16 before the semifinalists play in the championship final on November 17 at 7 P.M. The winner of the tournament will represent the A-SUN and punch their ticket to the 2019 NCAA National Volleyball Tournament.
The runner-up can decide whether they will or will not compete in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship tournament (NIVC), which is basically the volleyball version of the National Invitational Tournament (NIT). If the runner-up is the regular season champions, then they will automatically be in the tournament, should they decide to do so.
History Lesson of NIVC:
The NIVC started in 1989 as a 20-team tournament and ended in 1995. The inaugural champion was Wisconsin. The Badgers were the last champions in the tournament before shutting down and being defunct. In 2016, the NCAA brought back the tournament as a 64-team tournament. In last year's NIVC, Ole Miss was the inaugural champions of the revamp of the tournament after they defeated Texas Tech 3-0. Last year, Iowa State won the 2018 NIVC Tournament after defeating Tulane 3-0.
The list of champions:
1989 – Wisconsin
1990 – Houston
1991 – Kentucky
1992 – Washington State
1993 – Louisiana State
1994 – Cal-State Northridge
1995 – Wisconsin
2017- Ole Miss
2018- Iowa State
NIVC Breakdown:
The NIVC is simply like this:
1. 64 DI teams from all 32 conferences that did not get berths in the NCAA Tournament will be in line for their opportunity for the postseason.
2. Teams offered an automatic berth shall be the team that is the highest-finishing team in its conference’s regular-season standings, and not selected for the NCAA Tournament in which their overall record is not a criteria. There will, however, be a list of tiebreakers and other criteria involved.
3. The NIVC will give 32 at-large berths to the top teams available. Any team from a Division I conference, or a Division I independent team, will be considered.
4. It is a single-elimination tournament that will feature 32 first-round matches, followed by 16 second-round matches, eight third-round matches, four quarterfinal games, two semifinal matches, and the championship. It's similar to the MNIT and WNIT in college basketball.
5. The 32-40 team field will be announced late Sunday, December 1. The first and second rounds will start December 5-7 with the championship ending Tuesday, December 17.
Stetson clinched a spot in the A-SUN Tournament after shutting out NJIT. At one point, the Lady Hatters had an eight-match winning streak before the Eagles snapped it.
Offensively, senior Evi Deisa and Djokovic pave the way for the Hatters.
Deisa leads the team in kills (285) and aces (34), while Djokovic is second on the team in kills (226) and is tied in blocks (102). In the match against NJIT, Deisa had eight kills and two aces while Djokovic had 13 kills and three blocks
Defensively, juniors Chelcie Spence and Naina Ivanova leads the team with a combined 881 digs (Spence: 427, Ivanova: 444). Against NJIT, Spence had 17 digs while Ivanova was held to seven.
Scouting UNF:
The Ospreys clinched the last spot in the A-SUN Tournament after sweeping North Alabama.
Cestero leads the Ospreys with 410 kills and 138 digs. Cestero had 21 kills and eight digs against North Alabama.
Senior Taryn Griffey has 347 kills and 80 blocks. Griffey had 14 kills and a block against North Alabama.
Redshirt sophomore Gabby O'Connell is third on the team with 228 kills while adding 105 digs. O'Connell had 10 kills and five digs against North Alabama.
Askew lead the team with 1,265 assists and 194 digs. Askew had a double-double of 49 assists and 10 digs against UNA.
Series History:
Against the Owls, the Eagles are 16-11 overall. FGCU defeated Kennesaw on October 13 at the Alico Arena, but then lost 3-1 at the KSU Convocation Center on November 8 to split the series. The win against the Owls helped the Eagles gain sole possession of first place.
FGCU is 11-16 overall against the Lipscomb. The Eagles swept the Lady Bison at home on September 29 before travelling to the Allen Arena on November 10 for their fourth sweep against Lipscomb overall (2012, 2017, 2018). Both matches were won by a score of 3-0.
The Eagles are 24-6 against the Ospreys. The Eagles shutout the Ospreys 3-0 at the UNF Arena on October 4 and at the Alico Arena on November 3 by a score of 3-0.
The Eagles are 23-2 overall against the Lady Hatters where they defeated them 3-1 on the road on October 5 and at home on senior night on November 1.
A-SUN Tournament Breakdown:
The A-SUN Conference Volleyball Tournament is a three-day single elimination tournament from Friday, November 21 to Sunday, November 23 and will take place at the Alico Arena.
FGCU and Kennesaw State are the top two seeds in the tournament (#1 FGCU, #2 KSU) and as a result, they will have a first-round bye and await the winners of the quarterfinals matches from the #3 to #6 seeds.
The Eagles will await #4 Lipscomb and #5 Stetson, while the Owls await #3 Liberty and #6 UNF.
Lipscomb and Stetson will play at 5 P.M. and Liberty and UNF will follow at 7:30 P.M. on November 21.
What's at Stake:
The winners of quarterfinals will play at 5 P.M. (vs FGCU) and 7:30 P.M. (vs Kennesaw) on November 16 before the semifinalists play in the championship final on November 17 at 7 P.M. The winner of the tournament will represent the A-SUN and punch their ticket to the 2019 NCAA National Volleyball Tournament.
The runner-up can decide whether they will or will not compete in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship tournament (NIVC), which is basically the volleyball version of the National Invitational Tournament (NIT). If the runner-up is the regular season champions, then they will automatically be in the tournament, should they decide to do so.
History Lesson of NIVC:
The NIVC started in 1989 as a 20-team tournament and ended in 1995. The inaugural champion was Wisconsin. The Badgers were the last champions in the tournament before shutting down and being defunct. In 2016, the NCAA brought back the tournament as a 64-team tournament. In last year's NIVC, Ole Miss was the inaugural champions of the revamp of the tournament after they defeated Texas Tech 3-0. Last year, Iowa State won the 2018 NIVC Tournament after defeating Tulane 3-0.
The list of champions:
1989 – Wisconsin
1990 – Houston
1991 – Kentucky
1992 – Washington State
1993 – Louisiana State
1994 – Cal-State Northridge
1995 – Wisconsin
2017- Ole Miss
2018- Iowa State
NIVC Breakdown:
The NIVC is simply like this:
1. 64 DI teams from all 32 conferences that did not get berths in the NCAA Tournament will be in line for their opportunity for the postseason.
2. Teams offered an automatic berth shall be the team that is the highest-finishing team in its conference’s regular-season standings, and not selected for the NCAA Tournament in which their overall record is not a criteria. There will, however, be a list of tiebreakers and other criteria involved.
3. The NIVC will give 32 at-large berths to the top teams available. Any team from a Division I conference, or a Division I independent team, will be considered.
4. It is a single-elimination tournament that will feature 32 first-round matches, followed by 16 second-round matches, eight third-round matches, four quarterfinal games, two semifinal matches, and the championship. It's similar to the MNIT and WNIT in college basketball.
5. The 32-40 team field will be announced late Sunday, December 1. The first and second rounds will start December 5-7 with the championship ending Tuesday, December 17.
Livestats will be provided for all five matches and will air on ESPN+
Fans can also keep up on the teams' Twitter pages:
FGCU: @FGCU_VB
Kennesaw: @KSUOwlsVB
Lipscomb: @LipscombVBall
Liberty: @LibertyWVB
Stetson: @StetsonVB
UNF: @OspreyVB
ESPN+:
The A-SUN Conference Volleyball Tournament will air on the new, subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, which will be the new home for select FGCU and A-SUN games and event broadcasts. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month fee afterwards.
FGCU VB @ NJIT Recap
Junior Snowy Burnam had a match-high 11 kills as the FGCU volleyball team (26-4, 14-2 A-SUN) captured its second consecutive outright A-SUN regular season championship with a 25-17, 25-9, 25-13 win over NJIT (1-30, 0-15 A-SUN) in the Wellness and Events Center in Newark, New Jersey on Friday.
"That was a great way to end the regular season with a really nice performance on the road," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "While our blocking started a little slow, I was very impressed with the way the team adjusted after set one. Offensively, we were very clean, and I thought our hitters were making good decisions out there. To hit almost .500 also says a lot about the job Chelsey did. She is locating extremely well and putting her attackers in great spots."
With the win, the Eagles also set a new program record for regular season victories, topping the 2016 team's 25 wins, and they earned the top seed in the upcoming A-SUN tournament, where they'll get a chance to tie or break the overall single-season wins record of 27 following a quarterfinal round bye.
Burnam recorded her seventh double-digit kill performance of the season at a .588 clip. Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll added seven kills over eight attempts (.875), while five others hit at least .300 as the Eagles finished at a season-high .493 as a team offensively.
Not only was that hitting percentage a season-high, but it's the best any Green and Blue team has ever hit in an A-SUN match, as well as the top mark among any match in the program's Division I era.
Sophomore Chelsey Lockey assisted on 36 of FGCU's 38 kills while adding four digs and three block assists.
Defensively, Carroll had a team-high eight digs, while sophomore Dana Axner added six.
At the net, sophomore Tori Morris had a match-high six blocks, while freshman Erin Shomaker and senior Daniele Serrano added five apiece. Morris had three kills along with her block total.
Junior Cortney VanLiew also contributed to the win with six digs, five kills and two aces.
Notes:
FGCU is now 10-0 all-time against NJIT, and they haven't dropped a set along the way.
Burnam's 11 kills put her at 644 career kills and is six shy of surpassing Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time. Her two digs put her at 578 in her career while her one block, a block assist, was her 177th (165th career block assists) which surpassed Sharonda Pickering (176, 2017-18) for 10th all-time. Burnam needs 22 digs to become the 17th Eagle to reach 600 digs and 23 to surpass Christine Pinder (603, 2012-13) for 16th all-time. In blocking, Burnam needs three block assists to surpass Kaitlin Holm (167, 2011-13) for 10th all-time. Burnam's next milestone in total blocks is Devon Watts (195, 2004-05) for ninth all-time.
Lockey's 36 assists put her at 1,589 career assists and remains 220 shy of surpassing Laura Manovill (1,809, 2004-05) for fourth all-time.
Axner failed to record at least 10 digs for just the second time this year, snapping her streak at 21 straight. Depsite that, Axner's seven digs put her at 1,135 in her career. Carroll's eight digs put her at 1,224. Both are still competing to Brooke Youngquist-Sweat (1,369, 2004-07) for fourth all-time. Carroll's seven kills put her at 1,468 in her career and needs 32 to become the first Eagle to reach 1,500 career kills.
Serrano had the team's lone solo block and moved within three total blocks of passing Meredith Hardy (ETSU, 2010-13, 474.0) for the A-SUN's all-time career record. In addition, Serrano's four kills put her at 812 in her career and needs 26 to surpass Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time.
Morris' six blocks were all block assists and put her at 166 total blocks (146 block assists) which surpassed Elenora Kazarian (165, 2014-15) for 13th all-time. Morris needs seven block assists to Pickering (152, 2017-18) for 13th all-time.
VanLiew's five kills put her at 1,182 in her career, while her six digs put her at 738 in her career and remains 28 shy of surpassing Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time.
Senior Giovanna Borgiotti added three kills on the night and now has 548 in her career. Borgiotti needs 25 to surpass Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 16th all-time.
Botsford earned his 141st career win with FGCU and 382nd overall. Longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 292nd career win with the Eagles and 319th overall, while second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 80th.
Other A-SUN Scores:
On Tuesday, Liberty (18-9, 11-4 A-SUN) shutout Stetson 3-0 on the road. The Lady Flames will return to action Sunday afternoon at home as they welcome Kennesaw State (11/17) for their final match of the season.
Kennesaw State (18-8, 11-3 A-SUN) shutout Jacksonville (10-19, 5-9 A-SUN) 3-0 in Jacksonville. The Dolphins will welcome Lipscomb Saturday night (11/16) for their final match of the season.
Lipscomb (13-12, 9-5 A-SUN) defeated UNF (14-16, 6-8 A-SUN) on the road. The Ospreys will travel to Florence, Alabama to face North Alabama Sunday afternoon (11/17) for their final match of the season.
Stetson (10-14, 7-7 A-SUN) defeated North Alabama (4-23, 2-12 A-SUN) 3-1 on the road. The Lady Hatters will travel to Newark to face NJIT.
A-SUN standings (as of post-match Friday)
*1. FGCU - 26-4, 14-2
*2. Kennesaw State - 18-8, 11-3
*3. Liberty - 18-9, 11-4
*4. Lipscomb - 13-12, 9-5
5. Stetson - 10-14, 7-7
6. North Florida - 14-16, 6-8
7. Jacksonville - 10-19, 5-9
8. North Alabama - 4-23, 2-12
9. NJIT - 1-30, 0-15
*clinched A-SUN tournament berth
Most Division I victories (as of post-match Friday)
1. Stephen F. Austin - 27
2. Western Kentucky - 27
3. FGCU - 26
4. South Dakota - 25
Pittsburgh - 25
Colorado State - 25
7. Robert Morris - 24
Towson - 24
9. 8 teams - 23
Up Next:
Once FGCU's potential semifinal round opponents are known, we'll post it at FGCUathletics.com on the volleyball schedule page, plus we'll announce it on our Twitter page (@fgcu_vb).
"That was a great way to end the regular season with a really nice performance on the road," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "While our blocking started a little slow, I was very impressed with the way the team adjusted after set one. Offensively, we were very clean, and I thought our hitters were making good decisions out there. To hit almost .500 also says a lot about the job Chelsey did. She is locating extremely well and putting her attackers in great spots."
With the win, the Eagles also set a new program record for regular season victories, topping the 2016 team's 25 wins, and they earned the top seed in the upcoming A-SUN tournament, where they'll get a chance to tie or break the overall single-season wins record of 27 following a quarterfinal round bye.
Burnam recorded her seventh double-digit kill performance of the season at a .588 clip. Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll added seven kills over eight attempts (.875), while five others hit at least .300 as the Eagles finished at a season-high .493 as a team offensively.
Not only was that hitting percentage a season-high, but it's the best any Green and Blue team has ever hit in an A-SUN match, as well as the top mark among any match in the program's Division I era.
Sophomore Chelsey Lockey assisted on 36 of FGCU's 38 kills while adding four digs and three block assists.
Defensively, Carroll had a team-high eight digs, while sophomore Dana Axner added six.
At the net, sophomore Tori Morris had a match-high six blocks, while freshman Erin Shomaker and senior Daniele Serrano added five apiece. Morris had three kills along with her block total.
Junior Cortney VanLiew also contributed to the win with six digs, five kills and two aces.
Notes:
FGCU is now 10-0 all-time against NJIT, and they haven't dropped a set along the way.
Burnam's 11 kills put her at 644 career kills and is six shy of surpassing Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time. Her two digs put her at 578 in her career while her one block, a block assist, was her 177th (165th career block assists) which surpassed Sharonda Pickering (176, 2017-18) for 10th all-time. Burnam needs 22 digs to become the 17th Eagle to reach 600 digs and 23 to surpass Christine Pinder (603, 2012-13) for 16th all-time. In blocking, Burnam needs three block assists to surpass Kaitlin Holm (167, 2011-13) for 10th all-time. Burnam's next milestone in total blocks is Devon Watts (195, 2004-05) for ninth all-time.
Lockey's 36 assists put her at 1,589 career assists and remains 220 shy of surpassing Laura Manovill (1,809, 2004-05) for fourth all-time.
Axner failed to record at least 10 digs for just the second time this year, snapping her streak at 21 straight. Depsite that, Axner's seven digs put her at 1,135 in her career. Carroll's eight digs put her at 1,224. Both are still competing to Brooke Youngquist-Sweat (1,369, 2004-07) for fourth all-time. Carroll's seven kills put her at 1,468 in her career and needs 32 to become the first Eagle to reach 1,500 career kills.
Serrano had the team's lone solo block and moved within three total blocks of passing Meredith Hardy (ETSU, 2010-13, 474.0) for the A-SUN's all-time career record. In addition, Serrano's four kills put her at 812 in her career and needs 26 to surpass Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time.
Morris' six blocks were all block assists and put her at 166 total blocks (146 block assists) which surpassed Elenora Kazarian (165, 2014-15) for 13th all-time. Morris needs seven block assists to Pickering (152, 2017-18) for 13th all-time.
VanLiew's five kills put her at 1,182 in her career, while her six digs put her at 738 in her career and remains 28 shy of surpassing Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time.
Senior Giovanna Borgiotti added three kills on the night and now has 548 in her career. Borgiotti needs 25 to surpass Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 16th all-time.
Botsford earned his 141st career win with FGCU and 382nd overall. Longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 292nd career win with the Eagles and 319th overall, while second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 80th.
Other A-SUN Scores:
On Tuesday, Liberty (18-9, 11-4 A-SUN) shutout Stetson 3-0 on the road. The Lady Flames will return to action Sunday afternoon at home as they welcome Kennesaw State (11/17) for their final match of the season.
Kennesaw State (18-8, 11-3 A-SUN) shutout Jacksonville (10-19, 5-9 A-SUN) 3-0 in Jacksonville. The Dolphins will welcome Lipscomb Saturday night (11/16) for their final match of the season.
Lipscomb (13-12, 9-5 A-SUN) defeated UNF (14-16, 6-8 A-SUN) on the road. The Ospreys will travel to Florence, Alabama to face North Alabama Sunday afternoon (11/17) for their final match of the season.
Stetson (10-14, 7-7 A-SUN) defeated North Alabama (4-23, 2-12 A-SUN) 3-1 on the road. The Lady Hatters will travel to Newark to face NJIT.
A-SUN standings (as of post-match Friday)
*1. FGCU - 26-4, 14-2
*2. Kennesaw State - 18-8, 11-3
*3. Liberty - 18-9, 11-4
*4. Lipscomb - 13-12, 9-5
5. Stetson - 10-14, 7-7
6. North Florida - 14-16, 6-8
7. Jacksonville - 10-19, 5-9
8. North Alabama - 4-23, 2-12
9. NJIT - 1-30, 0-15
*clinched A-SUN tournament berth
Most Division I victories (as of post-match Friday)
1. Stephen F. Austin - 27
2. Western Kentucky - 27
3. FGCU - 26
4. South Dakota - 25
Pittsburgh - 25
Colorado State - 25
7. Robert Morris - 24
Towson - 24
9. 8 teams - 23
Up Next:
Once FGCU's potential semifinal round opponents are known, we'll post it at FGCUathletics.com on the volleyball schedule page, plus we'll announce it on our Twitter page (@fgcu_vb).
FGCU VB @ NJIT Preview
The FGCU volleyball team (25-4, 13-2 A-SUN) will close out the regular season with one final road trip as they travel to Newark, New Jersey to take on NJIT (1-29, 0-14 A-SUN) at the NJIT Wellness and Events Center Friday night, November 15 at 6 pm.
Last Time Out/What's at Stake:
The Eagles, who remain in first place in the A-SUN, wrapped up this past weekend on the road splitting on two matches. They would lose 3-1 to Kennesaw State Friday night before shutting out Lipscomb Sunday afternoon. As a result of defeating Lipscomb, the Eagles clinched a share of the A-SUN Regular Season Championship. A win over NJIT will give the Eagles the A-SUN Regular Season Championship.
What It Still Do VanLiew:
Junior Cortney VanLiew continues her dominance offensively and defensively. Offensively, VanLiew leads the team with 387 kills and 21 aces while defensively she has 197 digs and 47 blocks (nine solo). On the weekend, the defending A-SUN Player of the Year had 32 kills, an ace, 14 digs and four blocks.
During the match against Lipscomb, VanLiew surpassed Brooke Youngquist-Sweat (1,173, 2004-07) for second all-time in kills as she now has 1,177 in her career. In digs, VanLiew has 732 in her career and remains 34 shy of surpassing Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time.
In solo blocks, VanLiew has 24 in her career and needs one to surpass Sharonda Pickering (24, 2017-18) for ninth all-time.
Lockdown Weekend:
On the weekend for sophomore Chelsea Lockey, she had 77 assists, 16 digs and six blocks. Currently, Lockey has 1,077 assists in her name along with 52 blocks (five solo). In her career, Lockey has 1,553 career assists and remains 256 of surpassing Laura Manovill (1,809, 2004-05) for fourth all-time.
Spicy Style:
For senior Daniele Serrano, she continues to stuff through the competition both offensively and dominantly defensively. Currently, Serrano has 193 kills in her name along with 104 blocks (15 solo). On the weekend, Serrano had 12 kills and 12 blocks (two solo) while being named A-SUN Player of the Week last week.
In her career, Serrano has 808 career kills (eighth all-time) and needs 30 to surpass Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile, Serrano continues to stop the opposing teams' offense throughout her career as she is second in the A-SUN in total blocks (467). She only needs eight to surpass ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks in the A-SUN.
Tor of the Block:
Another benefactor with Serrano, predominantly defensively, is sophomore Tori Morris. Morris is second on the team in blocks (88, 12 solo) while adding 119 kills this season. Morris had 10 kills and nine blocks (two solo) on the weekend against Kennesaw State and Lipscomb.
Meanwhile in her career, Morris has 160 total blocks (140 block assists) in her name, which are both 14th all-time. In fact, Morris also has 21 career solo and is in a four way tie with Cara Ziegler (21, 2006-07), Karina Mambuca (21, 2012-13) and Roberta Santos (21, 2007-08) for 13th all-time. She needs six total blocks to surpass Elenora Kazarian (165, 2014-15) for 13th all-time, 13 block assist to surpass Sharonda Pickering (176, 2017-18) for 13th all-time and one solo bock to surpass Ziegler, Mambuca and Santos.
Snowy Lets it Snow:
Like Serrano, junior Snowy Burnam continues to play big both offensively and defensively. Burnam has 188 kills, 205 digs and 60 blocks (three solo). Burnam had 14 kills, 15 digs and six blocks (one solo) on the weekend.
In her career, Burnam has 633 career kills, 576 digs and 176 total blocks (164 block assists). Burnam needs 17 kills to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time, 24 digs to become the 17th Eagle to reach 600 digs, 25 digs to surpass Christine Pinder (603, 2012-13) for 16th all-time, one block to surpass Pickering (176, 2017-18) for 10th all-time and two block assists to surpass Kaitlin Holm (167, 2011-13) for 10th all-time.
Last Season Sharpening:
Axner currently has 504 digs (5.42 digs per set) in her name, while adding 25 aces. Axner had 48 digs and three aces against Kennesaw and Lipscomb. In fact, her three aces against Lipscomb were a career-high for the defending A-SUN Defensive Player of the Year.
Aces All In:
Speaking of aces, redshirt senior Amanda Carroll has a recent change in her role predominantly playing defense, but still playing offense. Carroll leads the team with 34 aces while adding 66 kills and 214 digs. Carroll had nine kills and 23 digs on the weekend.
In her career, Carroll remains the program leader in career kills (1,461) and is second in program history with 135 career aces needing only five to surpass Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) and become the all-time leader in career aces. In career digs, Carroll has 1,216 (fifth all-time) in her name and will be in a neck-and-neck battle with Axner.
Aces vs Axes:
There is a battle between Axner and Carroll in career digs. Axner has 1,128 career digs (sixth all-time) in her name, while Carroll has 1,216 (fifth all-time). Although Carroll is ahead of Axner by 88 digs, both are looking to surpass Youngquist-Sweat (1,369, 2004-07) for fourth all-time.
Big Coach Wins:
Head coach Matt Botsford is on path for two milestones: 200 career wins as head coach for the Eagles and 400 career wins as a coach overall (head coach or assistant). Botsford has 140 career wins with FGCU and 381 career wins as a coach overall.
Longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy is the only coach thus far that has coached with three different head coach at FGCU, Jaye Flood (2004-05), Dave Nicholls (2006-07*, 2008-13) and Botsford (2014-present) while coaching with Flood and Botsford when they earned their 100th career wins. Entering his 14th season with the Eagles, Mahy has 291 career wins with the Eagles and 318 overall.
Second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski has also made her mark with FGCU. While currently Zelinski has 52 wins with the Eagles, she has 79 overall wins in her name, which includes one season stints with Wake Forest (12 wins), Davidson (10 wins) and Middle Tennessee State (MTSU) (seven wins).
*side note: Mahy was with Nicholls at DII Barry University prior and upon his return to FGCU and had 27 career wins with Barry.
Updated A-SUN Standings:
*1. FGCU (25-4, 13-2 A-SUN)
*2. Kennesaw State (18-8, 11-3 A-SUN)
*3. Liberty (17-9, 10-4 A-SUN)
*4. Lipscomb (13-11, 9-4 A-SUN)
5. Stetson (10-13, 7-6 A-SUN)
6. UNF (14-16, 6-8 A-SUN)
7. Jacksonville (10-19, 5-9 A-SUN)
8. North Alabama (4-23, 2-12 A-SUN)
9. NJIT (1-29, 0-14 A-SUN)
Scouting NJIT:
Personal Opinion: Do I really need to make it obvious about NJIT? I think so.
Since their arrival in the A-SUN in 2015, the NJIT volleyball team has not had a decent winning season at all, granted their "best season" was in 2017 where they went 12-19 overall and 2-12 in A-SUN play.
And stating the obvious, they are not going to the postseason... again. Surprise??? No.
The Highlanders are coming off of a nail-biting 3-2 loss to North Alabama in Florence. The weekend for the Highlanders will be a senior day weekend as they will play Stetson Sunday afternoon.
As stated above, the Highlanders will not be competing in the A-SUN Conference Tournament due to their conference record.
Senior Madi Busler continues to lead the Highlanders offensively as she leads the team with 209 kills, 168 digs and 23 blocks (one solo). Busler had a double-double of 18 kills and 12 digs. Freshman Sarah Merritt follows Busler with 191 kills and 26 blocks. Merritt had eight kills and a block against North Alabama.
Two other players that follow Busler and Merritt are freshman Susan Blake and Courtney Branch as they each have 135 kills. Blake had six kills against North Alabama, while Branch had 11 kills two blocks.
Senior Liz Benson continues to lead the Highlanders with 589 assists, 15 aces and 200 digs. She had a double-double of 50 assists and 10 digs to go along with an ace.
Defensively, Branch leads the team with 74 blocks while senior Olivia Welch has 328 digs in her name. Welch had 23 digs against North Alabama.
Series History:
The Eagles are 9-0 overall against the Highlanders which includes their last matchup on October 19 where the Eagles won 3-0. In fact, the Eagles have defeated the Highlanders in straight sets in all nine matches.
Opinion: Will FGCU do that again? I wouldn't be surprise, so yes. Will NJIT Win a set against FGCU? Most likely, no.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available and will air on the NJIT Highlanders athletics website.
Livestats Link: https://www.njithighlanders.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Livestream Link: https://www.njithighlanders.com/watch/?Live=372&type=Live
Last Time Out/What's at Stake:
The Eagles, who remain in first place in the A-SUN, wrapped up this past weekend on the road splitting on two matches. They would lose 3-1 to Kennesaw State Friday night before shutting out Lipscomb Sunday afternoon. As a result of defeating Lipscomb, the Eagles clinched a share of the A-SUN Regular Season Championship. A win over NJIT will give the Eagles the A-SUN Regular Season Championship.
What It Still Do VanLiew:
Junior Cortney VanLiew continues her dominance offensively and defensively. Offensively, VanLiew leads the team with 387 kills and 21 aces while defensively she has 197 digs and 47 blocks (nine solo). On the weekend, the defending A-SUN Player of the Year had 32 kills, an ace, 14 digs and four blocks.
During the match against Lipscomb, VanLiew surpassed Brooke Youngquist-Sweat (1,173, 2004-07) for second all-time in kills as she now has 1,177 in her career. In digs, VanLiew has 732 in her career and remains 34 shy of surpassing Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time.
In solo blocks, VanLiew has 24 in her career and needs one to surpass Sharonda Pickering (24, 2017-18) for ninth all-time.
Lockdown Weekend:
On the weekend for sophomore Chelsea Lockey, she had 77 assists, 16 digs and six blocks. Currently, Lockey has 1,077 assists in her name along with 52 blocks (five solo). In her career, Lockey has 1,553 career assists and remains 256 of surpassing Laura Manovill (1,809, 2004-05) for fourth all-time.
Spicy Style:
For senior Daniele Serrano, she continues to stuff through the competition both offensively and dominantly defensively. Currently, Serrano has 193 kills in her name along with 104 blocks (15 solo). On the weekend, Serrano had 12 kills and 12 blocks (two solo) while being named A-SUN Player of the Week last week.
In her career, Serrano has 808 career kills (eighth all-time) and needs 30 to surpass Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile, Serrano continues to stop the opposing teams' offense throughout her career as she is second in the A-SUN in total blocks (467). She only needs eight to surpass ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks in the A-SUN.
Tor of the Block:
Another benefactor with Serrano, predominantly defensively, is sophomore Tori Morris. Morris is second on the team in blocks (88, 12 solo) while adding 119 kills this season. Morris had 10 kills and nine blocks (two solo) on the weekend against Kennesaw State and Lipscomb.
Meanwhile in her career, Morris has 160 total blocks (140 block assists) in her name, which are both 14th all-time. In fact, Morris also has 21 career solo and is in a four way tie with Cara Ziegler (21, 2006-07), Karina Mambuca (21, 2012-13) and Roberta Santos (21, 2007-08) for 13th all-time. She needs six total blocks to surpass Elenora Kazarian (165, 2014-15) for 13th all-time, 13 block assist to surpass Sharonda Pickering (176, 2017-18) for 13th all-time and one solo bock to surpass Ziegler, Mambuca and Santos.
Snowy Lets it Snow:
Like Serrano, junior Snowy Burnam continues to play big both offensively and defensively. Burnam has 188 kills, 205 digs and 60 blocks (three solo). Burnam had 14 kills, 15 digs and six blocks (one solo) on the weekend.
In her career, Burnam has 633 career kills, 576 digs and 176 total blocks (164 block assists). Burnam needs 17 kills to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time, 24 digs to become the 17th Eagle to reach 600 digs, 25 digs to surpass Christine Pinder (603, 2012-13) for 16th all-time, one block to surpass Pickering (176, 2017-18) for 10th all-time and two block assists to surpass Kaitlin Holm (167, 2011-13) for 10th all-time.
Last Season Sharpening:
Axner currently has 504 digs (5.42 digs per set) in her name, while adding 25 aces. Axner had 48 digs and three aces against Kennesaw and Lipscomb. In fact, her three aces against Lipscomb were a career-high for the defending A-SUN Defensive Player of the Year.
Aces All In:
Speaking of aces, redshirt senior Amanda Carroll has a recent change in her role predominantly playing defense, but still playing offense. Carroll leads the team with 34 aces while adding 66 kills and 214 digs. Carroll had nine kills and 23 digs on the weekend.
In her career, Carroll remains the program leader in career kills (1,461) and is second in program history with 135 career aces needing only five to surpass Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) and become the all-time leader in career aces. In career digs, Carroll has 1,216 (fifth all-time) in her name and will be in a neck-and-neck battle with Axner.
Aces vs Axes:
There is a battle between Axner and Carroll in career digs. Axner has 1,128 career digs (sixth all-time) in her name, while Carroll has 1,216 (fifth all-time). Although Carroll is ahead of Axner by 88 digs, both are looking to surpass Youngquist-Sweat (1,369, 2004-07) for fourth all-time.
Big Coach Wins:
Head coach Matt Botsford is on path for two milestones: 200 career wins as head coach for the Eagles and 400 career wins as a coach overall (head coach or assistant). Botsford has 140 career wins with FGCU and 381 career wins as a coach overall.
Longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy is the only coach thus far that has coached with three different head coach at FGCU, Jaye Flood (2004-05), Dave Nicholls (2006-07*, 2008-13) and Botsford (2014-present) while coaching with Flood and Botsford when they earned their 100th career wins. Entering his 14th season with the Eagles, Mahy has 291 career wins with the Eagles and 318 overall.
Second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski has also made her mark with FGCU. While currently Zelinski has 52 wins with the Eagles, she has 79 overall wins in her name, which includes one season stints with Wake Forest (12 wins), Davidson (10 wins) and Middle Tennessee State (MTSU) (seven wins).
*side note: Mahy was with Nicholls at DII Barry University prior and upon his return to FGCU and had 27 career wins with Barry.
Updated A-SUN Standings:
*1. FGCU (25-4, 13-2 A-SUN)
*2. Kennesaw State (18-8, 11-3 A-SUN)
*3. Liberty (17-9, 10-4 A-SUN)
*4. Lipscomb (13-11, 9-4 A-SUN)
5. Stetson (10-13, 7-6 A-SUN)
6. UNF (14-16, 6-8 A-SUN)
7. Jacksonville (10-19, 5-9 A-SUN)
8. North Alabama (4-23, 2-12 A-SUN)
9. NJIT (1-29, 0-14 A-SUN)
Scouting NJIT:
Personal Opinion: Do I really need to make it obvious about NJIT? I think so.
Since their arrival in the A-SUN in 2015, the NJIT volleyball team has not had a decent winning season at all, granted their "best season" was in 2017 where they went 12-19 overall and 2-12 in A-SUN play.
And stating the obvious, they are not going to the postseason... again. Surprise??? No.
The Highlanders are coming off of a nail-biting 3-2 loss to North Alabama in Florence. The weekend for the Highlanders will be a senior day weekend as they will play Stetson Sunday afternoon.
As stated above, the Highlanders will not be competing in the A-SUN Conference Tournament due to their conference record.
Senior Madi Busler continues to lead the Highlanders offensively as she leads the team with 209 kills, 168 digs and 23 blocks (one solo). Busler had a double-double of 18 kills and 12 digs. Freshman Sarah Merritt follows Busler with 191 kills and 26 blocks. Merritt had eight kills and a block against North Alabama.
Two other players that follow Busler and Merritt are freshman Susan Blake and Courtney Branch as they each have 135 kills. Blake had six kills against North Alabama, while Branch had 11 kills two blocks.
Senior Liz Benson continues to lead the Highlanders with 589 assists, 15 aces and 200 digs. She had a double-double of 50 assists and 10 digs to go along with an ace.
Defensively, Branch leads the team with 74 blocks while senior Olivia Welch has 328 digs in her name. Welch had 23 digs against North Alabama.
Series History:
The Eagles are 9-0 overall against the Highlanders which includes their last matchup on October 19 where the Eagles won 3-0. In fact, the Eagles have defeated the Highlanders in straight sets in all nine matches.
Opinion: Will FGCU do that again? I wouldn't be surprise, so yes. Will NJIT Win a set against FGCU? Most likely, no.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available and will air on the NJIT Highlanders athletics website.
Livestats Link: https://www.njithighlanders.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Livestream Link: https://www.njithighlanders.com/watch/?Live=372&type=Live
FGCU VB @ Lipscomb Recap
Bouncing back from their loss to Kennesaw, the FGCU volleyball team (25-4, 13-2 A-SUN) pulled away with their fifth sweep in A-SUN play as they shutout Lipscomb (13-11, 9-4 A-SUN) 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-14). With the win, the Eagles are now 11-16 against the Lady Bison and swept them in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history. In addition, the Eagles have clinched at least a share of the program's second straight A-SUN regular season championship.
"I'm really proud of this group for the way they competed and executed today," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "We got better each set defensively, and I thought our serving really picked up as well."
Offensively, junior Cortney VanLiew led the Eagles with 16 kills, an ace, an assist, seven digs and three blocks. Following VanLiew was freshman Erin Shoemaker as she finished with nine kills and three digs, while junior Snowy Burnam rounded out the lineup with seven kills, an ace, an assist, six digs and three blocks.
Sophomore Chelsea Lockey led all the Eagles with 36 assists, a kill, six digs and three blocks.
Senior Daniele Serrano and sophomores Tori Morris and Dana Axner led the Eagles defensively. Serrano led the all Eagles with seven blocks (two solo) to go with her four kills, while Morris finished with four blocks to go with her six kills. Axner finished with 21 digs, four assists and a career-high three aces.
Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll rounded out all the Eagles with three kills and nine digs.
"This group has been so steady all season," Botsford said. "I am happy to see them rewarded with a championship. They are a motivated group and have really worked hard to put themselves in this position. There is still work to do, and we are looking forward to getting back in the gym and find ways to improve ourselves even more."
The Green and Blue used two key runs to take control of the match. With Lipscomb leading 21-19 in the opening frame, FGCU got six straight points behind a pair of kills from VanLiew to take the early lead. Then, down 16-14 in the second set, the Eagles scored seven straight, highlighted by two blocks and a kill from Serrano. FGCU then scored six of seven and 14 of the first 20 points in the final set.
Notes:
With her 16 kills, VanLiew surpassed Brooke Youngquist-Sweat (1,173, 2004-07) for second all-time and now has 1,177 and will now be in a battle for the all-time leader with Carroll (1,461, 2015-present). Meanwhile in digs, VanLiew's seven digs put her at 732 in her career and remains 34 shy of surpassing Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time.
Burnam's seven kills put her at 633 and remains 17 shy of surpassing Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time. Meanwhile her six digs put her at 576 and remains 24 shy of becoming the 17th Eagle to reach 600 digs and 25 to surpass Christine Pinder (603, 2012-13) for 16th all-time. Her three blocks, all block assists, put her at 176 and needs one to surpass Sharonda Pickering (176, 2017-18) for 10th all-time. The three block assists put her at 164 in her career and needs two to surpass Kaitlin Holm (167, 2011-13) for 10th all-time.
Lockey's 36 assist put her at 1,553 in her career. Lockey's next milestone is Laura Manovill (1,809, 2004-05) for fourth all-time and needs 256 assists to do so.
Serrano's four kills put her at 808 in her career and 30 shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile, Serrano's seven blocks put her at 467 and needs eight to surpass ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks in the A-SUN.
All of Morris' four blocks were block assists and she now has 140 in her career. In total blocks, Morris now has 160. She needs 13 block assists to surpass Pickering and is now in a neck-and-neck battle with Burnam. Meanwhile in total blocks, Morris needs six to surpass Elenora Kazarian (165, 2014-15) for 13th all-time.
Axner's 21 digs put her at 1,128 and remains in a neck-and-neck battle with Carroll, who has 1,216 career digs after her nine digs.
Botsford earned his 140th career win with the Eagles (381st overall), while longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 291st win as a coach for the Eagles (318th overall) and second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 79th.
Other A-SUN Scores:
North Alabama (4-23, 2-12 A-SUN) defeated NJIT (1-29, 0-14 A-SUN) in a nail-biting 3-2 win on Saturday, November 9 in Florence. The Lions will be back in action Friday night, November 15 remaining at home as they welcome Stetson.
Jacksonville (10-19, 5-9 A-SUN) defeated Bethune-Cookman (8-20, 5-7 MEAC) at home for their final non-conference match. The Dolphins will remain at home as they welcome Kennesaw State to Jacksonville.
Kennesaw State (18-8, 11-3 A-SUN) shutout Stetson (10-13, 7-6 A-SUN) 3-0 in Deland. The Lady Hatters be back in action at home as they welcome Liberty Friday night, November 15.
Liberty (17-9, 10-4 A-SUN) defeated UNF (14-16, 6-8 A-SUN) 3-1 in Jacksonville. The Ospreys will remain at home as they welcome Lipscomb Friday night, November 15.
Matches for Next Week:
11/12: Liberty vs Stetson 6 pm
11/15:
Kennesaw State vs Jacksonville 7 pm
Stetson vs North Alabama 8 pm
Lipscomb vs UNF 7 pm
11/16: Lipscomb vs Jacksonville 7 pm
11/17:
Kennesaw State vs Liberty 1 pm
UNF vs North Alabama 2 pm
Stetson vs NJIT 3 pm
Updated A-SUN Standings:
*1. FGCU (25-4, 13-2 A-SUN)
*2. Kennesaw State (18-8, 11-3 A-SUN)
*3. Liberty (17-9, 10-4 A-SUN)
*4. Lipscomb (13-11, 9-4 A-SUN)
5. Stetson (10-13, 7-6 A-SUN)
6. UNF (14-16, 6-8 A-SUN)
7. Jacksonville (10-19, 5-9 A-SUN)
8. North Alabama (4-23, 2-12 A-SUN)
9. NJIT (1-29, 0-14 A-SUN)
Up Next:
The Eagles will close out the regular season with one final road match as they travel to Newark, New Jersey to face NJIT at the NJIT Wellness and Events Center Friday night, November 15 at 6 pm before the start of the A-SUN Conference Volleyball Tournament (11/21-11/23). If the Eagles defeat NJIT, then they secure the A-SUN Regular Season Championship for the second straight year.
"I'm really proud of this group for the way they competed and executed today," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "We got better each set defensively, and I thought our serving really picked up as well."
Offensively, junior Cortney VanLiew led the Eagles with 16 kills, an ace, an assist, seven digs and three blocks. Following VanLiew was freshman Erin Shoemaker as she finished with nine kills and three digs, while junior Snowy Burnam rounded out the lineup with seven kills, an ace, an assist, six digs and three blocks.
Sophomore Chelsea Lockey led all the Eagles with 36 assists, a kill, six digs and three blocks.
Senior Daniele Serrano and sophomores Tori Morris and Dana Axner led the Eagles defensively. Serrano led the all Eagles with seven blocks (two solo) to go with her four kills, while Morris finished with four blocks to go with her six kills. Axner finished with 21 digs, four assists and a career-high three aces.
Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll rounded out all the Eagles with three kills and nine digs.
"This group has been so steady all season," Botsford said. "I am happy to see them rewarded with a championship. They are a motivated group and have really worked hard to put themselves in this position. There is still work to do, and we are looking forward to getting back in the gym and find ways to improve ourselves even more."
The Green and Blue used two key runs to take control of the match. With Lipscomb leading 21-19 in the opening frame, FGCU got six straight points behind a pair of kills from VanLiew to take the early lead. Then, down 16-14 in the second set, the Eagles scored seven straight, highlighted by two blocks and a kill from Serrano. FGCU then scored six of seven and 14 of the first 20 points in the final set.
Notes:
With her 16 kills, VanLiew surpassed Brooke Youngquist-Sweat (1,173, 2004-07) for second all-time and now has 1,177 and will now be in a battle for the all-time leader with Carroll (1,461, 2015-present). Meanwhile in digs, VanLiew's seven digs put her at 732 in her career and remains 34 shy of surpassing Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time.
Burnam's seven kills put her at 633 and remains 17 shy of surpassing Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time. Meanwhile her six digs put her at 576 and remains 24 shy of becoming the 17th Eagle to reach 600 digs and 25 to surpass Christine Pinder (603, 2012-13) for 16th all-time. Her three blocks, all block assists, put her at 176 and needs one to surpass Sharonda Pickering (176, 2017-18) for 10th all-time. The three block assists put her at 164 in her career and needs two to surpass Kaitlin Holm (167, 2011-13) for 10th all-time.
Lockey's 36 assist put her at 1,553 in her career. Lockey's next milestone is Laura Manovill (1,809, 2004-05) for fourth all-time and needs 256 assists to do so.
Serrano's four kills put her at 808 in her career and 30 shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile, Serrano's seven blocks put her at 467 and needs eight to surpass ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks in the A-SUN.
All of Morris' four blocks were block assists and she now has 140 in her career. In total blocks, Morris now has 160. She needs 13 block assists to surpass Pickering and is now in a neck-and-neck battle with Burnam. Meanwhile in total blocks, Morris needs six to surpass Elenora Kazarian (165, 2014-15) for 13th all-time.
Axner's 21 digs put her at 1,128 and remains in a neck-and-neck battle with Carroll, who has 1,216 career digs after her nine digs.
Botsford earned his 140th career win with the Eagles (381st overall), while longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 291st win as a coach for the Eagles (318th overall) and second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 79th.
Other A-SUN Scores:
North Alabama (4-23, 2-12 A-SUN) defeated NJIT (1-29, 0-14 A-SUN) in a nail-biting 3-2 win on Saturday, November 9 in Florence. The Lions will be back in action Friday night, November 15 remaining at home as they welcome Stetson.
Jacksonville (10-19, 5-9 A-SUN) defeated Bethune-Cookman (8-20, 5-7 MEAC) at home for their final non-conference match. The Dolphins will remain at home as they welcome Kennesaw State to Jacksonville.
Kennesaw State (18-8, 11-3 A-SUN) shutout Stetson (10-13, 7-6 A-SUN) 3-0 in Deland. The Lady Hatters be back in action at home as they welcome Liberty Friday night, November 15.
Liberty (17-9, 10-4 A-SUN) defeated UNF (14-16, 6-8 A-SUN) 3-1 in Jacksonville. The Ospreys will remain at home as they welcome Lipscomb Friday night, November 15.
Matches for Next Week:
11/12: Liberty vs Stetson 6 pm
11/15:
Kennesaw State vs Jacksonville 7 pm
Stetson vs North Alabama 8 pm
Lipscomb vs UNF 7 pm
11/16: Lipscomb vs Jacksonville 7 pm
11/17:
Kennesaw State vs Liberty 1 pm
UNF vs North Alabama 2 pm
Stetson vs NJIT 3 pm
Updated A-SUN Standings:
*1. FGCU (25-4, 13-2 A-SUN)
*2. Kennesaw State (18-8, 11-3 A-SUN)
*3. Liberty (17-9, 10-4 A-SUN)
*4. Lipscomb (13-11, 9-4 A-SUN)
5. Stetson (10-13, 7-6 A-SUN)
6. UNF (14-16, 6-8 A-SUN)
7. Jacksonville (10-19, 5-9 A-SUN)
8. North Alabama (4-23, 2-12 A-SUN)
9. NJIT (1-29, 0-14 A-SUN)
Up Next:
The Eagles will close out the regular season with one final road match as they travel to Newark, New Jersey to face NJIT at the NJIT Wellness and Events Center Friday night, November 15 at 6 pm before the start of the A-SUN Conference Volleyball Tournament (11/21-11/23). If the Eagles defeat NJIT, then they secure the A-SUN Regular Season Championship for the second straight year.
FGCU VB @ Kennesaw State Recap
The FGCU volleyball team (24-4, 13-2 A-SUN) were pushed to their limit in the first set as they fell to Kennesaw State (16-9, 9-4 A-SUN) 3-1 (30-28, 28-30, 21-25, 21-25). With the loss, the Eagles are now 16-11 against the Owls and snapped their 14-match winning streak. Despite the loss the Eagles remain in first place in the A-SUN and hold a one-and-a-half match advantage
"This was obviously a disappointing result as we would have liked to perform at a higher level, but much of that had to do with KSU doing a great job applying pressure throughout the match," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "We didn't manage their service game very well and offensively, after that second set, we really struggled to find consistent point scoring."
Offensively, it was junior Cortney VanLiew that led the Eagles as she finished with 16 kills, seven digs, an assist and a block. Following behind VanLiew was senior Daniele Serrano as she finished with eight kills, two digs and five blocks.
Junior Snowy Burnam rounded up with seven kills, an ace, three blocks (one solo) and nine digs
Sophomore Chelsea Lockey put up a double-double of 41 assists and 10 digs while adding two kills, an ace and three blocks.
Aside from Serrano's blocks, sophomores Dana Axner and Tori Morris fought to keep the Eagles' defense in tact. Axner finished with 27 digs and three assists, while Morris finished with four kills, a dig and five blocks (two solo).
Notes:
With her 16 kills, VanLiew has 1,161 in her career and is now 13 shy of surpassing Brooke Youngquist-Sweat (1,173, 2004-07) for second all-time, while seven digs put her at 725 in her career and is 41 shy of passing Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time.
Serrano became the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills and now has 804 career kills. She is now 34 shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile, Serrano's five blocks put her at 460 and needs 15 to surpass ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks in the A-SUN.
Burnam's seven kills put her at 626 in her career and needs 24 to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time. Meanwhile her nine digs put her at 570 and remains 30 shy of becoming the 17th Eagle to reach 600 digs and 34 to surpass Christine Pinder (603, 2012-13) for 16th all-time. Her three blocks put her at 173 and needs four to surpass Sharonda Pickering (176, 2017-18) for 10th all-time. Two of Burnam's blocks were block assists. She now has 161 career block assists and needs seven to surpass Kaitlin Holm (167, 2011-13) for 10th all-time.
Lockey's 41 assists put her at 1,517 in her career. Lockey's next milestone is Laura Manovill (1,809, 2004-05) for fourth all-time and needs 293 assists to do so.
Axner's 27 digs helped her surpass Courtney Stephens (1,084, 2014-17) for sixth all-time and now has 1,107 career digs. Her next milestone is a neck-and-neck battle with redshirt senior Amanda Carroll. Carroll finished with six kills and 14 digs in the match. Carroll now has 1,458 career kills and 1,507 career digs. She had no aces and remains five shy of surpassing Anna Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) and becoming the all-time leader in career aces.
Three of Morris' five blocks were block assists and now has 136, thus surpassing Roberta Santos (132, 2007-08) for 14th all-time. Morris' two solo blocks put her at 21 as she surpassed Brooke Kohler (20, 2011-12) for 16th all-time and is in a four way tie with Cara Ziegler (21, 2006-07), Karina Mambuca (21, 2012-13) and Santos (21, 2007-08) for 13th all-time.
In total blocks, Morris surpassed Santos (153, 2007-08) for 14th all-time as she now has 156 in her career. Her next milestone for block assists is Elenora Kazarian (165, 2014-15) for 13th all-time, while in total blocks she needs
The Green and Blue led 23-20 in the opening set before the Owls rallied for force extra points, but FGCU claimed a thrilling 30-28 win in a final stretch that included a 50-second rally. The Eagles continued to roll in the second set and led 24-19, but Kennesaw State scored six straight points, forced another long set and claimed a 30-28 win of their own.
That match-tying victory ended FGCU's consecutive sets won streak at 26, which will stand as the second longest in the program's Division I era behind the 30-set streak set by the 2007 team.
Following that second set, Kennesaw State continued to surge behind the defensive play of Karlee Groover (match-high 41 digs) and the offensive balance of Lauren Chastang (23 kills), Quin Sutphin (15 kills), Dani Ballou (13 kills) and Emma Schurfranz (10 kills). Jasmine Brown added nine as the Owls produced 73 kills along with 92 digs, both of which are the highest totals against FGCU this year.
The Owls scored six of nine and 12 of the first 17 points while controlling the third set to take a 2-1 lead. In the fourth, FGCU rallied and took an 18-16 lead, but fell victim to a service error on the ensuing point and Kennesaw State reeled off five straight, eventually claiming a 25-21 victory.
Updated A-SUN standings:
*1. FGCU - 24-4, 12-2
*2. Kennesaw State - 16-9, 9-3
3. Liberty - 16-9, 9-4
4. Lipscomb - 13-11, 9-4
5. Stetson - 10-12, 7-5
6. North Florida - 14-15, 6-7
7. Jacksonville - 9-19, 5-9
8. North Alabama - 3-23, 1-12
9. NJIT - 1-28, 0-13
*clinched A-SUN tournament berth
Other A-SUN Scores:
UNF (14-15, 6-7 A-SUN) defeated Jacksonville (9-19, 5-9 A-SUN) 3-1 at the UNF Arena. The Ospreys will play Liberty (16-9, 9-4) at home, while the Dolphins play their last non-conference match at home against Bethune-Cookman (8-20, 5-7 MEAC).
Lipscomb (13-11, 9-4 A-SUN) shutout NJIT (1-28, 0-13 A-SUN) 3-0 in Nashville on their senior night. The Highlanders will face North Alabama (3-23, 1-12 A-SUN) in Florence, Alabama.
Other Upcoming matches:
Kennesaw (17-8, 10-3 A-SUN) vs Stetson (10-12, 7-5)
Up Next:
The Eagles are off to Nashville to take on Lipscomb Sunday afternoon at 1 pm at the Allen Arena. The Eagles can claim at least a share of the A-SUN regular season championship if they defeat Lipscomb.
"This was obviously a disappointing result as we would have liked to perform at a higher level, but much of that had to do with KSU doing a great job applying pressure throughout the match," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "We didn't manage their service game very well and offensively, after that second set, we really struggled to find consistent point scoring."
Offensively, it was junior Cortney VanLiew that led the Eagles as she finished with 16 kills, seven digs, an assist and a block. Following behind VanLiew was senior Daniele Serrano as she finished with eight kills, two digs and five blocks.
Junior Snowy Burnam rounded up with seven kills, an ace, three blocks (one solo) and nine digs
Sophomore Chelsea Lockey put up a double-double of 41 assists and 10 digs while adding two kills, an ace and three blocks.
Aside from Serrano's blocks, sophomores Dana Axner and Tori Morris fought to keep the Eagles' defense in tact. Axner finished with 27 digs and three assists, while Morris finished with four kills, a dig and five blocks (two solo).
Notes:
With her 16 kills, VanLiew has 1,161 in her career and is now 13 shy of surpassing Brooke Youngquist-Sweat (1,173, 2004-07) for second all-time, while seven digs put her at 725 in her career and is 41 shy of passing Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time.
Serrano became the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills and now has 804 career kills. She is now 34 shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile, Serrano's five blocks put her at 460 and needs 15 to surpass ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks in the A-SUN.
Burnam's seven kills put her at 626 in her career and needs 24 to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time. Meanwhile her nine digs put her at 570 and remains 30 shy of becoming the 17th Eagle to reach 600 digs and 34 to surpass Christine Pinder (603, 2012-13) for 16th all-time. Her three blocks put her at 173 and needs four to surpass Sharonda Pickering (176, 2017-18) for 10th all-time. Two of Burnam's blocks were block assists. She now has 161 career block assists and needs seven to surpass Kaitlin Holm (167, 2011-13) for 10th all-time.
Lockey's 41 assists put her at 1,517 in her career. Lockey's next milestone is Laura Manovill (1,809, 2004-05) for fourth all-time and needs 293 assists to do so.
Axner's 27 digs helped her surpass Courtney Stephens (1,084, 2014-17) for sixth all-time and now has 1,107 career digs. Her next milestone is a neck-and-neck battle with redshirt senior Amanda Carroll. Carroll finished with six kills and 14 digs in the match. Carroll now has 1,458 career kills and 1,507 career digs. She had no aces and remains five shy of surpassing Anna Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) and becoming the all-time leader in career aces.
Three of Morris' five blocks were block assists and now has 136, thus surpassing Roberta Santos (132, 2007-08) for 14th all-time. Morris' two solo blocks put her at 21 as she surpassed Brooke Kohler (20, 2011-12) for 16th all-time and is in a four way tie with Cara Ziegler (21, 2006-07), Karina Mambuca (21, 2012-13) and Santos (21, 2007-08) for 13th all-time.
In total blocks, Morris surpassed Santos (153, 2007-08) for 14th all-time as she now has 156 in her career. Her next milestone for block assists is Elenora Kazarian (165, 2014-15) for 13th all-time, while in total blocks she needs
The Green and Blue led 23-20 in the opening set before the Owls rallied for force extra points, but FGCU claimed a thrilling 30-28 win in a final stretch that included a 50-second rally. The Eagles continued to roll in the second set and led 24-19, but Kennesaw State scored six straight points, forced another long set and claimed a 30-28 win of their own.
That match-tying victory ended FGCU's consecutive sets won streak at 26, which will stand as the second longest in the program's Division I era behind the 30-set streak set by the 2007 team.
Following that second set, Kennesaw State continued to surge behind the defensive play of Karlee Groover (match-high 41 digs) and the offensive balance of Lauren Chastang (23 kills), Quin Sutphin (15 kills), Dani Ballou (13 kills) and Emma Schurfranz (10 kills). Jasmine Brown added nine as the Owls produced 73 kills along with 92 digs, both of which are the highest totals against FGCU this year.
The Owls scored six of nine and 12 of the first 17 points while controlling the third set to take a 2-1 lead. In the fourth, FGCU rallied and took an 18-16 lead, but fell victim to a service error on the ensuing point and Kennesaw State reeled off five straight, eventually claiming a 25-21 victory.
Updated A-SUN standings:
*1. FGCU - 24-4, 12-2
*2. Kennesaw State - 16-9, 9-3
3. Liberty - 16-9, 9-4
4. Lipscomb - 13-11, 9-4
5. Stetson - 10-12, 7-5
6. North Florida - 14-15, 6-7
7. Jacksonville - 9-19, 5-9
8. North Alabama - 3-23, 1-12
9. NJIT - 1-28, 0-13
*clinched A-SUN tournament berth
Other A-SUN Scores:
UNF (14-15, 6-7 A-SUN) defeated Jacksonville (9-19, 5-9 A-SUN) 3-1 at the UNF Arena. The Ospreys will play Liberty (16-9, 9-4) at home, while the Dolphins play their last non-conference match at home against Bethune-Cookman (8-20, 5-7 MEAC).
Lipscomb (13-11, 9-4 A-SUN) shutout NJIT (1-28, 0-13 A-SUN) 3-0 in Nashville on their senior night. The Highlanders will face North Alabama (3-23, 1-12 A-SUN) in Florence, Alabama.
Other Upcoming matches:
Kennesaw (17-8, 10-3 A-SUN) vs Stetson (10-12, 7-5)
Up Next:
The Eagles are off to Nashville to take on Lipscomb Sunday afternoon at 1 pm at the Allen Arena. The Eagles can claim at least a share of the A-SUN regular season championship if they defeat Lipscomb.
FGCU VB @ Kennesaw; Lipscomb Preview
The FGCU volleyball team (24-3, 12-1 A-SUN) will head on the road for two of their final three road matches for the weekend as they travel to Kennesaw, Georgia to take on Kennesaw State (16-8, 9-3 A-SUN) Friday night, November 8 at 7 pm at the KSU Convocation Center before heading to Nashville to take on Lipscomb (12-11, 8-4 A-SUN) at Allen Arena Sunday afternoon, November 10 at 1 pm.
Do the Do VanLiew:
Last Time Out:
The Eagles wrapped up their final match homestead this past weekend as they shutout Stetson on Friday for their senior night before shutting out UNF on Sunday for their final home match. Currently, the Eagles remain in first place in the A-SUN.
What's at Stake:
With a win over the Owls on Friday, the Eagles would clinch the program's second straight outright A-SUN regular season championship, along with the No. 1 seed and quarterfinal round bye in the A-SUN tournament that accompanies it. Lose and FGCU would have to defeat both Lipscomb on Sunday and NJIT on Nov. 15 to win the title outright.
What's at Stake:
With a win over the Owls on Friday, the Eagles would clinch the program's second straight outright A-SUN regular season championship, along with the No. 1 seed and quarterfinal round bye in the A-SUN tournament that accompanies it. Lose and FGCU would have to defeat both Lipscomb on Sunday and NJIT on Nov. 15 to win the title outright.
Do the Do VanLiew:
For junior Cortney VanLiew, she still continues to lead the offense for the Eagles as well as contributing defensively. VanLiew currently has 355 kills and 20 aces, while defensively she has 183 digs and 43 blocks (nine solo). VanLiew had 22 kills, two aces, 10 digs and seven blocks (two solo). In her name, VanLiew has 1,145 kills, 718 digs and 24 solo blocks.
VanLiew's 1,145 career kills are third all-time and she needs 29 to surpass Brooke Youngquist-Sweat (1,173, 2004-07) for second all-time, while in digs she has 718 in her career and is 48 shy of passing Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time. VanLiew's 24th solo block surpassed Jacqueline Cowden (23, 2009-10) and Melissa Duffield (23, 2005) for 10th all-time and is tied with Sharonda Pickering (24, 2017-18) for ninth all-time. She needs one to surpass Pickering for ninth all-time.
Hotter than Jalapenos:
Senior Daniele Serrano continues to do her role strongly both offensively and defensively. Serrano currently has 182 kills and 92 blocks (13 solo) in her name. This past weekend, Serrano had 22 kills and 12 blocks (three solo) against Stetson and UNF. During the weekend, Serrano was named A-SUN Player of the Week for her performance.
"As a senior, you expect to see Dani elevate her game as we get down the stretch and that is exactly what is happening," head coach Matt Botsford said. "Her impact on both sides of the ball is so important to our success, and she is in a great rhythm right now."
In her career, Serrano has 796 career kills and needs four to become the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills. She is also 42 kills shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile Serrano has 455 career blocks and needs 20 to surpass ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks in the A-SUN.
Ice Ice Baby:
Like Serrano, junior Snowy Burnam has also cemented herself both offensively and defensively. Currently, Burnam has 174 kills and 23 aces offensively while defensively she has 190 digs and 57 blocks (two solo). For the weekend vs Stetson and UNF, Burnam had a combined 22 kills (11 in both matches), one ace, 17 digs and three blocks.
In her career, Burnam has 619 kills, 561 digs and 170 blocks (159 block assists). Burnam surpassed Lauren Tutwiler (170, 2014-15) for 11th all-time in total blocks. She needs 31 kills to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time, 43 digs to become the 17th Eagle to reach 600 digs and surpass Christine Pinder (603, 2012-13) for 16th all-time, nine block assists to surpass Kaitlin Holm (167, 2011-13) and seven total blocks to surpass Sharonda Pickering (176, 2017-18) for 10th all-time.
Take the Key:
Sophomore Chelsea Lockey reached 1,000 assists in a single season while adding 24 aces, 195 digs and 46 (five solo). Lockey had 77 assists, an ace, 20 digs and three blocks on the weekend vs Stetson and UNF.
Lockey has 1,476 career assists in her name and surpassed Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) for fifth all-time in the match vs UNF. Lockey's next milestone is Laura Manovill (1,809, 2004-05) for fourth all-time.
On the World Tor:
Sophomore Tori Morris has 109 kills and 79 blocks (10 solo) in her name. On the weekend, Morris had eight kills and five blocks (two solo). In career blocks assists, Morris has 132 in her career as she surpassed Kaitlan Krivdo (129, 2015-18) for 15th all-time during the match vs and tied with Santos (132, 2007-08) for 14th all-time. Her one solo block put her at 19 as she surpassed Jill Hopper (18, 2011-13) for 17th all-time. In total blocks, Morris has 151 in her career.
Timber!!!
Sophomore Dana Axner still continues her strong role defensively as she leads the team with 456 digs while adding 22 aces. On the weekend, Axner had 45 combined digs and two aces. As a result of the weekend, Axner was named A-SUN Defensive Player of the Week for the fourth time this season and the fifth time overall.
"Dana continues to assert herself within each match and has spearheaded our great team defense," Botsford said. "The way she is reading the court right now and expanding her defensive range shows the growth of her game."
In her career, Axner has 1,080 digs and needs five to surpass Courtney Stephens (1,084, 2014-17) for sixth all-time.
Mrs. Aces:
Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll continues to lead the team with 34 aces, while adding 57 kills and 191 digs. Carroll finished with two kills, two aces and nine digs on the weekend.
In career kills, Carroll has 1,452, while in aces she has 135 and 1,193 digs. Carroll needs five aces to surpass Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) as the all-time leader.
Coach Milestones:
Speaking of coaches and milestones, Botsford has been on path in his coaching career as a whole. On the weekend, Botsford earned his 138th and 139th career wins with the Eagles (379th and 380th overall).
Meanwhile, longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 289th and 290th career win (316th and 317th overall), while second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 77th and 78th.
Scouting Kennesaw:
The Owls are coming off of two home matches shutting out NJIT 3-0 Tuesday morning before falling 3-0 on their senior night to Lipscomb. Currently, the Owls remain in second place in the A-SUN.
Offensively, junior Lauren Chastang leads the Owls with 343 kills and 52 aces while classmate Quin Sutphin follows with 248 kills of her own.
Senior and defending A-SUN Setter of the Year Lexi Broadwater leads away with 1,051 assists.
Defensively, Sutphin (69 blocks) and sophomore Jasmine Brown (67 blocks) lead the way for the Owls in blocking while junior Karlee Groover has 413 digs.
Scouting Lipscomb:
The Lady Bison are coming off of shutting out Kennesaw 3-0 on the road and will face NJIT at home Friday night for their senior night game.
Sophomore Garrett Joiner and senior Maddie Phillips lead the team offensively with Joiner leading the way with 205 kills and adding 22 blocks, while Phillips has 203 kills and 13 aces. Senior Morgan Elmore has 879 assists and 41 blocks.
Defensively, Phillips also has 67 blocks while junior Alyssa Zwolensky has 364 digs.
Series History:
The Eagles have played both teams earlier in conference play with both results ending in FGCU's favor. The Eagles are 16-10 all-time against Kennesaw State, while going 10-16 against Lipscomb with Lipscomb losing five straight matches on the year.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be provided for both matches and will also air on ESPN+.
Livestats Link:
@ Kennesaw State: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=265494&vislive=fguu
@ Lipscomb: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=266175&vislive=fguu
ESPN+ Link:
@ Kennesaw State: https://www.espn.com/watch?id=3c965388-e58f-4da7-8a4d-4863cb79a288
@Lipscomb: https://www.espn.com/watch?id=0871baa3-3559-4df2-9bdb-e463da2e51b6
VanLiew's 1,145 career kills are third all-time and she needs 29 to surpass Brooke Youngquist-Sweat (1,173, 2004-07) for second all-time, while in digs she has 718 in her career and is 48 shy of passing Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time. VanLiew's 24th solo block surpassed Jacqueline Cowden (23, 2009-10) and Melissa Duffield (23, 2005) for 10th all-time and is tied with Sharonda Pickering (24, 2017-18) for ninth all-time. She needs one to surpass Pickering for ninth all-time.
Hotter than Jalapenos:
Senior Daniele Serrano continues to do her role strongly both offensively and defensively. Serrano currently has 182 kills and 92 blocks (13 solo) in her name. This past weekend, Serrano had 22 kills and 12 blocks (three solo) against Stetson and UNF. During the weekend, Serrano was named A-SUN Player of the Week for her performance.
"As a senior, you expect to see Dani elevate her game as we get down the stretch and that is exactly what is happening," head coach Matt Botsford said. "Her impact on both sides of the ball is so important to our success, and she is in a great rhythm right now."
In her career, Serrano has 796 career kills and needs four to become the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills. She is also 42 kills shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile Serrano has 455 career blocks and needs 20 to surpass ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks in the A-SUN.
Ice Ice Baby:
Like Serrano, junior Snowy Burnam has also cemented herself both offensively and defensively. Currently, Burnam has 174 kills and 23 aces offensively while defensively she has 190 digs and 57 blocks (two solo). For the weekend vs Stetson and UNF, Burnam had a combined 22 kills (11 in both matches), one ace, 17 digs and three blocks.
In her career, Burnam has 619 kills, 561 digs and 170 blocks (159 block assists). Burnam surpassed Lauren Tutwiler (170, 2014-15) for 11th all-time in total blocks. She needs 31 kills to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time, 43 digs to become the 17th Eagle to reach 600 digs and surpass Christine Pinder (603, 2012-13) for 16th all-time, nine block assists to surpass Kaitlin Holm (167, 2011-13) and seven total blocks to surpass Sharonda Pickering (176, 2017-18) for 10th all-time.
Take the Key:
Sophomore Chelsea Lockey reached 1,000 assists in a single season while adding 24 aces, 195 digs and 46 (five solo). Lockey had 77 assists, an ace, 20 digs and three blocks on the weekend vs Stetson and UNF.
Lockey has 1,476 career assists in her name and surpassed Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) for fifth all-time in the match vs UNF. Lockey's next milestone is Laura Manovill (1,809, 2004-05) for fourth all-time.
On the World Tor:
Sophomore Tori Morris has 109 kills and 79 blocks (10 solo) in her name. On the weekend, Morris had eight kills and five blocks (two solo). In career blocks assists, Morris has 132 in her career as she surpassed Kaitlan Krivdo (129, 2015-18) for 15th all-time during the match vs and tied with Santos (132, 2007-08) for 14th all-time. Her one solo block put her at 19 as she surpassed Jill Hopper (18, 2011-13) for 17th all-time. In total blocks, Morris has 151 in her career.
Timber!!!
Sophomore Dana Axner still continues her strong role defensively as she leads the team with 456 digs while adding 22 aces. On the weekend, Axner had 45 combined digs and two aces. As a result of the weekend, Axner was named A-SUN Defensive Player of the Week for the fourth time this season and the fifth time overall.
"Dana continues to assert herself within each match and has spearheaded our great team defense," Botsford said. "The way she is reading the court right now and expanding her defensive range shows the growth of her game."
In her career, Axner has 1,080 digs and needs five to surpass Courtney Stephens (1,084, 2014-17) for sixth all-time.
Mrs. Aces:
Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll continues to lead the team with 34 aces, while adding 57 kills and 191 digs. Carroll finished with two kills, two aces and nine digs on the weekend.
In career kills, Carroll has 1,452, while in aces she has 135 and 1,193 digs. Carroll needs five aces to surpass Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) as the all-time leader.
Coach Milestones:
Speaking of coaches and milestones, Botsford has been on path in his coaching career as a whole. On the weekend, Botsford earned his 138th and 139th career wins with the Eagles (379th and 380th overall).
Meanwhile, longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 289th and 290th career win (316th and 317th overall), while second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 77th and 78th.
Scouting Kennesaw:
The Owls are coming off of two home matches shutting out NJIT 3-0 Tuesday morning before falling 3-0 on their senior night to Lipscomb. Currently, the Owls remain in second place in the A-SUN.
Offensively, junior Lauren Chastang leads the Owls with 343 kills and 52 aces while classmate Quin Sutphin follows with 248 kills of her own.
Senior and defending A-SUN Setter of the Year Lexi Broadwater leads away with 1,051 assists.
Defensively, Sutphin (69 blocks) and sophomore Jasmine Brown (67 blocks) lead the way for the Owls in blocking while junior Karlee Groover has 413 digs.
Scouting Lipscomb:
The Lady Bison are coming off of shutting out Kennesaw 3-0 on the road and will face NJIT at home Friday night for their senior night game.
Sophomore Garrett Joiner and senior Maddie Phillips lead the team offensively with Joiner leading the way with 205 kills and adding 22 blocks, while Phillips has 203 kills and 13 aces. Senior Morgan Elmore has 879 assists and 41 blocks.
Defensively, Phillips also has 67 blocks while junior Alyssa Zwolensky has 364 digs.
Series History:
The Eagles have played both teams earlier in conference play with both results ending in FGCU's favor. The Eagles are 16-10 all-time against Kennesaw State, while going 10-16 against Lipscomb with Lipscomb losing five straight matches on the year.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be provided for both matches and will also air on ESPN+.
Livestats Link:
@ Kennesaw State: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=265494&vislive=fguu
@ Lipscomb: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=266175&vislive=fguu
ESPN+ Link:
@ Kennesaw State: https://www.espn.com/watch?id=3c965388-e58f-4da7-8a4d-4863cb79a288
@Lipscomb: https://www.espn.com/watch?id=0871baa3-3559-4df2-9bdb-e463da2e51b6
FGCU VB vs UNF Recap
The FGCU volleyball team (24-3, 12-1 A-SUN) closed out their final home match of the season in success as they shutout North Florida (12-15, 5-7 A-SUN) 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 27-25). With the win, the Eagles have claimed their fourth conference series sweep of the season and are now 24-6 against the Ospreys.
The Eagles, who tied Stephen F. Austin and Western Kentucky for the most wins in the nation with Sunday's outcome, pushed their winning streak to 14 straight overall and have also won 25 consecutive sets, which breaks a tie with the 2017 team for the second longest such stretch in the program's Division I era. They are now five shy of tying the 2007 team's all-time mark, while the overall match streak is just two shy of matching last year's team for the longest in FGCU's annals.
"I am really happy to walk away with a sweep," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "I thought North Florida was doing some nice things, especially from the service line that was causing us some issues, but I'm most happy with our response in the third set after UNF took the lead. I thought our girls scrapped. We weren't executing at a particularly high level, but our hustle earned us a few extra points that ended up being really big."
Offensively, it was senior Daniele Serrano that led the Eagles offensively and defensively. Serrano finished with a match-high 12 kills and seven blocks (one solo). Junior Snowy Burnam followed Serrano with 11 kills, seven digs and three blocks.
Sophomore Chelsea Lockey was three digs shy of a double-double as she finished with 37 assists, seven digs, a kill and a block.
Junior Cortney finished with seven kills, an ace, five blocks (one solo) and five digs while sophomore Tori Morris finished with three kills and four blocks (one solo).
Sophomore Dana Axner finished with 22 digs, an ace and two assists.
Notes:
With her 12 kills, Serrano now has 796 career kills and needs four to become the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills and 42 shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile Serrano's seven blocks put her at 455 and needs 20 to surpass ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks in the A-SUN.
Serrano's .733 hitting percentage over 15 attempts is her new career-high in a match with at least 10 attacks. It was her second straight outing with double-digits and her fifth such match this year, just one shy of her season-high in kills.
Burnam's 11 kills put her at 619 in her career and needs 31 to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time. In digs, Burnam now has 560 and needs 44 Christine Pinder (603, 2012-13) for 16th all-time. Burnam's three blocks were block assists and she now has 162 in her career. In total, she has 173 and has surpassed Lauren Tutwiler (170, 2014-15) for 11th all-time. Burnam needs six block assists to surpass Kaitlin Holm (167, 2011-13) and four total blocks to surpass Sharonda Pickering (176, 2017-18) for 10th all-time.
Lockey's 37 assists put her at 1,476 as she surpassed Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) for fifth all-time. Lockey's next milestone is Laura Manovill (1,809, 2004-05) for fourth all-time.
VanLiew's seven kills put her at 1,145 and needs 29 to surpass Brooke Youngquist-Sweat (1,173, 2004-07) for second all-time, while in digs she has 718 in her career and is 48 shy of passing Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time. VanLiew's lone solo block pushed her to 24 as she surpassed Jacqueline Cowden (23, 2009-10) and Melissa Duffield (23, 2005) for 10th all-time and is tied with Pickering (24, 2017-18) for ninth all-time.
Three of Morris' total blocks were blocks assists now has 132 in her career as she surpassed Kaitlan Krivdo (129, 2015-18) for 15th all-time and tied with Santos (132, 2007-08) for 14th all-time. Her one solo block put her at 19 as she surpassed Jill Hopper (18, 2011-13) for 17th all-time. In total blocks, Morris has 151 in her career.
Axner's 22 digs put her at 1,080 in her career and needs five to surpass Courtney Stephens (1,084, 2014-17) for sixth all-time.
Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll finished with a kill, an ace and four digs. Carroll's lone kill put her at 1,452, while her lone ace put her at 135 and her four digs put her at 1,193. Carroll needs five aces to surpass Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) as the all-time leader.
Botsford earned his 139th career win with the Eagles (380th overall) while longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 290th career win (317th overall) and second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 78th.
A-SUN Scores:
Jacksonville (9-18, 5-8 A-SUN) shutout NJIT (1-27, 0-12 A-SUN) in Newark.
Liberty (16-9, 9-4 A-SUN) defeated North Alabama (3-23, 1-12 A-SUN) 3-2.
Next A-SUN Scheduled Matches:
November 5: UNF vs Bethune-Cookman (7-19, 4-6 MEAC) at 7 pm
November 8:
UNF vs Jacksonville at 7 pm,
NJIT vs Lipscomb at 7 pm.
November 9: NJIT vs North Alabama at 1 pm
November 10:
Jacksonville vs Bethune-Cookman at 1 pm
Liberty vs UNF at 1 pm
Kennesaw State vs Stetson at 1 pm
Up Next:
FGCU will be back in action on Friday at Kennesaw State (16-8, 9-3 A-SUN). With a win, the Green and Blue would clinch the program's second consecutive outright A-SUN regular season title and the top seed in the A-SUN tournament, which will be held in Alico Arena Nov. 21-23.
A-SUN Conference Standings:
*1. FGCU - 24-3, 12-1
*2. Kennesaw State - 16-8, 9-3
*3. Liberty - 16-9, 9-4
4. Lipscomb - 12-11, 8-4
5. Stetson - 10-12, 7-5
6. North Florida - 12-15, 5-7
7. Jacksonville - 9-18, 5-8
8. North Alabama - 3-23, 1-12
9. NJIT - 1-27, 0-12
*clinched A-SUN tournament berth
The Eagles, who tied Stephen F. Austin and Western Kentucky for the most wins in the nation with Sunday's outcome, pushed their winning streak to 14 straight overall and have also won 25 consecutive sets, which breaks a tie with the 2017 team for the second longest such stretch in the program's Division I era. They are now five shy of tying the 2007 team's all-time mark, while the overall match streak is just two shy of matching last year's team for the longest in FGCU's annals.
"I am really happy to walk away with a sweep," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "I thought North Florida was doing some nice things, especially from the service line that was causing us some issues, but I'm most happy with our response in the third set after UNF took the lead. I thought our girls scrapped. We weren't executing at a particularly high level, but our hustle earned us a few extra points that ended up being really big."
Offensively, it was senior Daniele Serrano that led the Eagles offensively and defensively. Serrano finished with a match-high 12 kills and seven blocks (one solo). Junior Snowy Burnam followed Serrano with 11 kills, seven digs and three blocks.
Sophomore Chelsea Lockey was three digs shy of a double-double as she finished with 37 assists, seven digs, a kill and a block.
Junior Cortney finished with seven kills, an ace, five blocks (one solo) and five digs while sophomore Tori Morris finished with three kills and four blocks (one solo).
Sophomore Dana Axner finished with 22 digs, an ace and two assists.
Notes:
With her 12 kills, Serrano now has 796 career kills and needs four to become the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills and 42 shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile Serrano's seven blocks put her at 455 and needs 20 to surpass ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks in the A-SUN.
Serrano's .733 hitting percentage over 15 attempts is her new career-high in a match with at least 10 attacks. It was her second straight outing with double-digits and her fifth such match this year, just one shy of her season-high in kills.
Burnam's 11 kills put her at 619 in her career and needs 31 to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time. In digs, Burnam now has 560 and needs 44 Christine Pinder (603, 2012-13) for 16th all-time. Burnam's three blocks were block assists and she now has 162 in her career. In total, she has 173 and has surpassed Lauren Tutwiler (170, 2014-15) for 11th all-time. Burnam needs six block assists to surpass Kaitlin Holm (167, 2011-13) and four total blocks to surpass Sharonda Pickering (176, 2017-18) for 10th all-time.
Lockey's 37 assists put her at 1,476 as she surpassed Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) for fifth all-time. Lockey's next milestone is Laura Manovill (1,809, 2004-05) for fourth all-time.
VanLiew's seven kills put her at 1,145 and needs 29 to surpass Brooke Youngquist-Sweat (1,173, 2004-07) for second all-time, while in digs she has 718 in her career and is 48 shy of passing Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time. VanLiew's lone solo block pushed her to 24 as she surpassed Jacqueline Cowden (23, 2009-10) and Melissa Duffield (23, 2005) for 10th all-time and is tied with Pickering (24, 2017-18) for ninth all-time.
Three of Morris' total blocks were blocks assists now has 132 in her career as she surpassed Kaitlan Krivdo (129, 2015-18) for 15th all-time and tied with Santos (132, 2007-08) for 14th all-time. Her one solo block put her at 19 as she surpassed Jill Hopper (18, 2011-13) for 17th all-time. In total blocks, Morris has 151 in her career.
Axner's 22 digs put her at 1,080 in her career and needs five to surpass Courtney Stephens (1,084, 2014-17) for sixth all-time.
Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll finished with a kill, an ace and four digs. Carroll's lone kill put her at 1,452, while her lone ace put her at 135 and her four digs put her at 1,193. Carroll needs five aces to surpass Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) as the all-time leader.
Botsford earned his 139th career win with the Eagles (380th overall) while longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 290th career win (317th overall) and second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 78th.
A-SUN Scores:
Jacksonville (9-18, 5-8 A-SUN) shutout NJIT (1-27, 0-12 A-SUN) in Newark.
Liberty (16-9, 9-4 A-SUN) defeated North Alabama (3-23, 1-12 A-SUN) 3-2.
Next A-SUN Scheduled Matches:
November 5: UNF vs Bethune-Cookman (7-19, 4-6 MEAC) at 7 pm
November 8:
UNF vs Jacksonville at 7 pm,
NJIT vs Lipscomb at 7 pm.
November 9: NJIT vs North Alabama at 1 pm
November 10:
Jacksonville vs Bethune-Cookman at 1 pm
Liberty vs UNF at 1 pm
Kennesaw State vs Stetson at 1 pm
Up Next:
FGCU will be back in action on Friday at Kennesaw State (16-8, 9-3 A-SUN). With a win, the Green and Blue would clinch the program's second consecutive outright A-SUN regular season title and the top seed in the A-SUN tournament, which will be held in Alico Arena Nov. 21-23.
A-SUN Conference Standings:
*1. FGCU - 24-3, 12-1
*2. Kennesaw State - 16-8, 9-3
*3. Liberty - 16-9, 9-4
4. Lipscomb - 12-11, 8-4
5. Stetson - 10-12, 7-5
6. North Florida - 12-15, 5-7
7. Jacksonville - 9-18, 5-8
8. North Alabama - 3-23, 1-12
9. NJIT - 1-27, 0-12
*clinched A-SUN tournament berth
FGCU VB vs Stetson Recap: Senior Night
The FGCU volleyball team (23-3, 11-1 A-SUN) continued to extend their streak as they shutout Stetson (10-12, 7-5 A-SUN) 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-9). With the win, the Eagles, who are now 23-5 against the Lady Hatters, earned their third sweep in conference play and snapped their eight-match winning streak while increasing their winning streak to 13. The Green and Blue's current streak is three shy of matching the program's Division I era winning streak record that was set last year and remains tied for the seventh-longest in the nation.
"It was outstanding," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said of his team's performance. "It seemed we got a little bit better each set. It started off a little bit shaky. I thought we were a little tentative. I thought once their instincts kicked in and they just relaxed a little bit, we saw a nice trajectory throughout the match."
"Unfortunately, I don't think we brought our top game," Stetson head coach Yang Deng said. "You could see there were moments we tried to improve, but it just wasn't clicking this game. I think it is a great learning moment for us. How do you stay poised against a good team and be focused on your part and what you are supposed to do."
Prior to the match, the Eagles recognized three seniors on the team, Daniele Serrano, Giovanna Borgiotti and Amanda Carroll for their accomplishments and achievements.
Offensively, it was juniors Cortney and Snowy Burnam that led the Eagles. VanLiew finished with a team-leading 15 kills, five digs, an ace, an assists and two blocks (one solo), while Burnam finished with a double-double of 11 kills and 10 digs while adding an ace. Sophomore Chelsea Lockey also finished with a double-double of 40 assists and 13 digs while adding two kills, an ace and two blocks.
Senior Daniele Serrano finished with 10 kills to go along with five blocks (two solo) and two digs. With her 10 kills, Serrano now has 784 in her career and needs 16 more to become the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills and 54 shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile Serrano's five blocks put her at 450 and needs 25 to surpass ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks.
Sophomore Dana Axner finished with 23 digs to go along with an ace and three assists.
Carroll finished with a kill, an ace and five digs. Carroll's lone kill put her at 1,451 while her lone ace put her at 134 and five digs put her at 1,189.
Borgiotti had two kills, which put her at 545 in her career and remains 28 shy of surpassing Leigh Pudwill (579, 2015-16) for 16th all-time.
Notes:
VanLiew's 15 kills put her at 1,138 as she pushed passed Olivia Mesner (1,132, 2010-14) for third all-time and is now on pace to surpass Brooke Youngquist-Sweat (1,173, 2004-07) for second all-time, while in digs, she now has 713 in her career and is 53 shy of passing Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time. VanLiew's lone solo block pushed her to 23 as she is now tied with Jacqueline Cowden (23, 2009-10) and Melissa Duffield (23, 2005) for 10th all-time.
Burnam became the 15th Eagle to reach 600 career kills as she now has 608 and needs 42 to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time. In digs, Burnam now has 553 as she surpassed Jill Hopper (552, 2011-13) for 17th all-time. Her next milestone is Christine Pinder (603, 2012-13) for 16th all-time.
Lockey's 40 assists put her at 1,333 career assists and needs 72 to surpass Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) for fifth all-time.
Axner's 23 digs put her at 1,058 and needs 27 to surpass Courtney Stephens (1,084, 2014-17) for sixth all-time.
Botsford earned his 138th career win with the Eagles (379th overall) while longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 289th career win (316th overall) and second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 77th.
Carroll, Serrano and Borgiotti are on pace to become the first senior class in the program's Division I era to record at least 100 wins. The trio has helped lead the Eagles to a 99-26 record through Friday, including a 47-9 record in A-SUN play while advancing to three straight A-SUN tournament championship matches. Last year, they led the program to an A-SUN regular season championship and its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, where the Eagles knocked off No. 13 UCF in the opening round.
A-SUN Scores:
UNF (12-14, 5-6 A-SUN) shutout NJIT (1-26, 0-11 A-SUN) 3-0 in Newark. The Highlanders will remain at home as they welcome Jacksonville Sunday afternoon, November 3 at 2 pm.
Liberty (15-9, 8-4 A-SUN) defeated Lipscomb (11-11, 7-4 A-SUN) 3-1 on Halloween at home. The Lady Flames remain at home to face North Alabama Sunday afternoon, November 3 at 4 pm, while the Lady Bison will face Kennesaw State (16-7, 9-2 A-SUN) Saturday night, November 2 at 7 pm
Jacksonville (8-18, 4-8 A-SUN) shutout North Alabama (3-22, 1-11 A-SUN) in Jacksonville on Halloween.
A-SUN Conference Standings:
*1. FGCU - 23-3, 11-1
*2. Kennesaw State - 16-7, 9-2
3. Liberty - 15-9, 8-4
4. Lipscomb - 11-11, 7-4
5. Stetson - 10-12, 7-5
6. North Florida - 12-14, 5-6
7. Jacksonville - 8-18, 4-8
8. North Alabama - 3-22, 1-11
9. NJIT - 1-26, 0-11
*clinched A-SUN tournament berth
Up Next:
The Eagles will host their final home match of the season as they welcome UNF to the Alico Arena Sunday afternoon, November 3 at 2 pm. A a win on Sunday can also tie Western Kentucky for the most wins in the nation as the Hilltoppers don't play against until Nov. 8. Stephen F. Austin also has the chance to join the 24-win club on Saturday, while four others have 22 apiece - Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, South Dakota and Colorado State.
"It was outstanding," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said of his team's performance. "It seemed we got a little bit better each set. It started off a little bit shaky. I thought we were a little tentative. I thought once their instincts kicked in and they just relaxed a little bit, we saw a nice trajectory throughout the match."
"Unfortunately, I don't think we brought our top game," Stetson head coach Yang Deng said. "You could see there were moments we tried to improve, but it just wasn't clicking this game. I think it is a great learning moment for us. How do you stay poised against a good team and be focused on your part and what you are supposed to do."
Prior to the match, the Eagles recognized three seniors on the team, Daniele Serrano, Giovanna Borgiotti and Amanda Carroll for their accomplishments and achievements.
Offensively, it was juniors Cortney and Snowy Burnam that led the Eagles. VanLiew finished with a team-leading 15 kills, five digs, an ace, an assists and two blocks (one solo), while Burnam finished with a double-double of 11 kills and 10 digs while adding an ace. Sophomore Chelsea Lockey also finished with a double-double of 40 assists and 13 digs while adding two kills, an ace and two blocks.
Senior Daniele Serrano finished with 10 kills to go along with five blocks (two solo) and two digs. With her 10 kills, Serrano now has 784 in her career and needs 16 more to become the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills and 54 shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile Serrano's five blocks put her at 450 and needs 25 to surpass ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks.
Sophomore Dana Axner finished with 23 digs to go along with an ace and three assists.
Carroll finished with a kill, an ace and five digs. Carroll's lone kill put her at 1,451 while her lone ace put her at 134 and five digs put her at 1,189.
Borgiotti had two kills, which put her at 545 in her career and remains 28 shy of surpassing Leigh Pudwill (579, 2015-16) for 16th all-time.
Notes:
VanLiew's 15 kills put her at 1,138 as she pushed passed Olivia Mesner (1,132, 2010-14) for third all-time and is now on pace to surpass Brooke Youngquist-Sweat (1,173, 2004-07) for second all-time, while in digs, she now has 713 in her career and is 53 shy of passing Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time. VanLiew's lone solo block pushed her to 23 as she is now tied with Jacqueline Cowden (23, 2009-10) and Melissa Duffield (23, 2005) for 10th all-time.
Burnam became the 15th Eagle to reach 600 career kills as she now has 608 and needs 42 to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time. In digs, Burnam now has 553 as she surpassed Jill Hopper (552, 2011-13) for 17th all-time. Her next milestone is Christine Pinder (603, 2012-13) for 16th all-time.
Lockey's 40 assists put her at 1,333 career assists and needs 72 to surpass Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) for fifth all-time.
Axner's 23 digs put her at 1,058 and needs 27 to surpass Courtney Stephens (1,084, 2014-17) for sixth all-time.
Botsford earned his 138th career win with the Eagles (379th overall) while longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 289th career win (316th overall) and second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 77th.
Carroll, Serrano and Borgiotti are on pace to become the first senior class in the program's Division I era to record at least 100 wins. The trio has helped lead the Eagles to a 99-26 record through Friday, including a 47-9 record in A-SUN play while advancing to three straight A-SUN tournament championship matches. Last year, they led the program to an A-SUN regular season championship and its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, where the Eagles knocked off No. 13 UCF in the opening round.
A-SUN Scores:
UNF (12-14, 5-6 A-SUN) shutout NJIT (1-26, 0-11 A-SUN) 3-0 in Newark. The Highlanders will remain at home as they welcome Jacksonville Sunday afternoon, November 3 at 2 pm.
Liberty (15-9, 8-4 A-SUN) defeated Lipscomb (11-11, 7-4 A-SUN) 3-1 on Halloween at home. The Lady Flames remain at home to face North Alabama Sunday afternoon, November 3 at 4 pm, while the Lady Bison will face Kennesaw State (16-7, 9-2 A-SUN) Saturday night, November 2 at 7 pm
Jacksonville (8-18, 4-8 A-SUN) shutout North Alabama (3-22, 1-11 A-SUN) in Jacksonville on Halloween.
A-SUN Conference Standings:
*1. FGCU - 23-3, 11-1
*2. Kennesaw State - 16-7, 9-2
3. Liberty - 15-9, 8-4
4. Lipscomb - 11-11, 7-4
5. Stetson - 10-12, 7-5
6. North Florida - 12-14, 5-6
7. Jacksonville - 8-18, 4-8
8. North Alabama - 3-22, 1-11
9. NJIT - 1-26, 0-11
*clinched A-SUN tournament berth
Up Next:
The Eagles will host their final home match of the season as they welcome UNF to the Alico Arena Sunday afternoon, November 3 at 2 pm. A a win on Sunday can also tie Western Kentucky for the most wins in the nation as the Hilltoppers don't play against until Nov. 8. Stephen F. Austin also has the chance to join the 24-win club on Saturday, while four others have 22 apiece - Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, South Dakota and Colorado State.
FGCU VB vs Stetson; UNF Preview
The top-ranked FGCU volleyball team (22-3, 10-1 A-SUN) will look to keep streaking as they host Stetson (10-11, 7-4 A-SUN) Friday night at 7 p.m. and North Florida (11-14, 4-6 A-SUN) Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. inside Alico Arena this weekend to close out their home portion of the regular season schedule.
Senior Day:
Prior to Friday's match, the volleyball program will honor its three seniors - Giovanna Borgiotti, Amanda Carroll and Daniele Serrano.
In nearly four seasons, they are on pace to become the first senior class in the program's Division I era to record at least 100 wins. The trio has helped lead the Eagles to a 98-26 record entering this weekend, including a 46-9 record in A-SUN play while advancing to three straight A-SUN tournament championship matches. Last year, they led the program to an A-SUN regular season championship and its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, where the Eagles knocked off No. 13 UCF in the opening round.
Still Streaking:
The Eagles will enter Friday's tilt having won 12 straight matches and 19 consecutive sets. They are one of just 10 teams across the nation with at least 20 victories, and their 22 victories is tied with Milwaukee and Stephen F. Austin for the second-most in the nation behind Western Kentucky's 23.
Most Division I victories
1. Western Kentucky - 23
2. FGCU - 22
Milwaukee - 22
Stephen F. Austin - 22
5. Pittsburgh - 21
South Dakota - 21
Colorado State - 21
8. Towson - 20
New Mexico State - 20
Robert Morris - 20
In addition to that, FGCU's 12-match winning streak is tied for the seventh-longest in the nation. With Tuesday's win over Liberty, the Eagles are now four shy of matching the program's Division I era winning streak record of 16 that was set last year.
Longest Division I winning streaks
1. Western Kentucky - 20
Colorado State - 20
3. South Dakota - 18
4. Stephen F. Austin - 15
5. Towson - 14
Fairfield - 14
7. FGCU - 12
Creighton - 12
New Mexico State - 12
10. VCU - 11
Wisconsin
Meanwhile, FGCU's 19-set winning streak is three shy of matching the 2017 team for the second-longest in the program's Division I era behind the 2007 team, who won 30 straight.
A-SUN Roundup:
FGCU currently sits atop the A-SUN standings with a 10-1 record, just ahead of Kennesaw State (9-2). While they'll have to wait for Nov. 8 to meet the Owls again, the Eagles can't overlook any match, especially as Stetson rides into town with an eight-match winning streak. The Hatters are one of two teams outside of Liberty to win a set against FGCU in conference season. In fact, the Eagles are 36-2 in sets vs conference teams since their loss to Liberty to open conference play.
Conference Standings
*1. FGCU - 22-3, 10-1
2. Kennesaw State - 16-7, 9-2
3. Lipscomb - 11-10, 7-3
4. Liberty - 14-9, 7-4
5. Stetson - 10-11, 7-4
6. North Florida - 11-14, 4-6
7. Jacksonville - 7-18, 3-8
8. North Alabama - 3-21, 1-10
9. NJIT - 1-25, 0-10
*clinched A-SUN tournament berth
Highest RPI:
FGCU was ranked 44th in the season's first official RPI rankings, which was the highest in program history. They were ranked 48th the following week, 52nd last week and 63rd this week, which remains the highest among all conference teams.
#63 FGCU
#90 Kennesaw State
#132 Liberty
#176 Lipscomb
#220 Stetson
#256 North Florida
#280 Jacksonville
#300 North Alabama
#318 NJIT
Series History:
FGCU is 22-2 all-time against Stetson having won 12 consecutive matches in a streak that started Nov. 21, 2013. During that unblemished stretch, the Eagles only went to five sets twice and have produced sweeps in six of the 12.
Snowy Burnam (17) and Cortney VanLiew (14) combined for 31 kills in the first matchup against the Hatters this year. Dana Axner added 19 digs, while Chelsey Lockey had 52 assists. The Eagles produced 15 blocks as a team, led by four apiece from Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) and Tori Morris.
Meanwhile, FGCU is 23-6 all-time against North Florida. The Ospreys have lost three straight - all in straight sets - in the series, but they claimed a pair of five set wins over the Eagles on their home court in 2016 and 2017. The Green and Blue have never lost to North Florida in Alico Arena, sporting an 11-0 record and winning 30 of 33 sets in Fort Myers.
VanLiew had a match-high 18 kills against UNF on Oct. 4, while Axner had 13 digs. Lockey chipped in 37 assists, while Morris had five blocks.
Green and Blue Notes:
Last Tuesday, Axner became the seventh player in program history to reach 1,000 career digs in the team's straight-set win over Bethune-Cookman. She tallied 20 in the match and now sits at 1,035. The sophomore reached the milestone in just 56 career matches, becoming the fastest to do so in program history, and she already ranks fifth in the program's Division I era in career digs. The last player to reach the milestone was Amanda Carroll on Aug. 31, 2018.
Furthermore, Axner has extended her season-high streak of matches with 10 or more digs to 17. She had her career-high 28-match streak snapped on Sept. 13 against Indiana, which was the only time this year she failed to record at least 10 and was a streak that dated back to Sept. 21 of last year. Nationally, her 411 digs overall and 5.14 per set rank 37th and 17th, respectively.
VanLiew, who is one of just three players in program history to achieve at least 1,000 kills and 500 digs in a career along with Carroll and Brooke Youngquist Sweat, has double-digit kills in 19 of 25 matches overall this year. On Oct. 5, she concluded a program record-tying streak of 15 consecutive matches with at least 10 or more kills, tying Eleonora Kazarian (Sept. 20 - Nov. 7, 2014) and Ana Kokanovic (Oct. 4 - Nov. 15, 2008). On top of that, she has seven of her 26 career double-doubles this year and ranks among the top 50 nationally in attacks/set, kills/set, points, points/set and kills.
Serrano, a senior middle blocker who already holds all of FGCU's career blocking records, continues her chase to become the A-SUN's all-time blocks leader. She currently sits in second with 443.0, just 32 shy of surpassing Meredith Hardy's (ETSU, 2010-13, 474.0) all-time mark.
Lockey has tallied at least 20 assists in every match this year, as well as 30 or more in 22 of 25 matches. Furthermore, she has eight matches with at least 40, including a career-high 54 against San Diego State on Aug. 31 and UCF on Sept. 20. She has five double-doubles this year in assists and digs, as well as two matches with at least 30 assists, five kills, five digs and two blocks. She is 77 assists shy of producing the 10th season with at least 1,000 in program history.
Burnam inched her way up the record book in several categories against Liberty on Tuesday. Not only is she now three kills shy of becoming the 11th player in the program's Division I era with at least 600 in a career, but she is in sole possession of ninth place on the career block assist list with 156, moved into the top 10 in career blocks with 167 and needs one more point to move into the top 10 in that career category.
Senior Day:
Prior to Friday's match, the volleyball program will honor its three seniors - Giovanna Borgiotti, Amanda Carroll and Daniele Serrano.
In nearly four seasons, they are on pace to become the first senior class in the program's Division I era to record at least 100 wins. The trio has helped lead the Eagles to a 98-26 record entering this weekend, including a 46-9 record in A-SUN play while advancing to three straight A-SUN tournament championship matches. Last year, they led the program to an A-SUN regular season championship and its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, where the Eagles knocked off No. 13 UCF in the opening round.
Still Streaking:
The Eagles will enter Friday's tilt having won 12 straight matches and 19 consecutive sets. They are one of just 10 teams across the nation with at least 20 victories, and their 22 victories is tied with Milwaukee and Stephen F. Austin for the second-most in the nation behind Western Kentucky's 23.
Most Division I victories
1. Western Kentucky - 23
2. FGCU - 22
Milwaukee - 22
Stephen F. Austin - 22
5. Pittsburgh - 21
South Dakota - 21
Colorado State - 21
8. Towson - 20
New Mexico State - 20
Robert Morris - 20
In addition to that, FGCU's 12-match winning streak is tied for the seventh-longest in the nation. With Tuesday's win over Liberty, the Eagles are now four shy of matching the program's Division I era winning streak record of 16 that was set last year.
Longest Division I winning streaks
1. Western Kentucky - 20
Colorado State - 20
3. South Dakota - 18
4. Stephen F. Austin - 15
5. Towson - 14
Fairfield - 14
7. FGCU - 12
Creighton - 12
New Mexico State - 12
10. VCU - 11
Wisconsin
Meanwhile, FGCU's 19-set winning streak is three shy of matching the 2017 team for the second-longest in the program's Division I era behind the 2007 team, who won 30 straight.
A-SUN Roundup:
FGCU currently sits atop the A-SUN standings with a 10-1 record, just ahead of Kennesaw State (9-2). While they'll have to wait for Nov. 8 to meet the Owls again, the Eagles can't overlook any match, especially as Stetson rides into town with an eight-match winning streak. The Hatters are one of two teams outside of Liberty to win a set against FGCU in conference season. In fact, the Eagles are 36-2 in sets vs conference teams since their loss to Liberty to open conference play.
Conference Standings
*1. FGCU - 22-3, 10-1
2. Kennesaw State - 16-7, 9-2
3. Lipscomb - 11-10, 7-3
4. Liberty - 14-9, 7-4
5. Stetson - 10-11, 7-4
6. North Florida - 11-14, 4-6
7. Jacksonville - 7-18, 3-8
8. North Alabama - 3-21, 1-10
9. NJIT - 1-25, 0-10
*clinched A-SUN tournament berth
Highest RPI:
FGCU was ranked 44th in the season's first official RPI rankings, which was the highest in program history. They were ranked 48th the following week, 52nd last week and 63rd this week, which remains the highest among all conference teams.
#63 FGCU
#90 Kennesaw State
#132 Liberty
#176 Lipscomb
#220 Stetson
#256 North Florida
#280 Jacksonville
#300 North Alabama
#318 NJIT
Series History:
FGCU is 22-2 all-time against Stetson having won 12 consecutive matches in a streak that started Nov. 21, 2013. During that unblemished stretch, the Eagles only went to five sets twice and have produced sweeps in six of the 12.
Snowy Burnam (17) and Cortney VanLiew (14) combined for 31 kills in the first matchup against the Hatters this year. Dana Axner added 19 digs, while Chelsey Lockey had 52 assists. The Eagles produced 15 blocks as a team, led by four apiece from Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) and Tori Morris.
Meanwhile, FGCU is 23-6 all-time against North Florida. The Ospreys have lost three straight - all in straight sets - in the series, but they claimed a pair of five set wins over the Eagles on their home court in 2016 and 2017. The Green and Blue have never lost to North Florida in Alico Arena, sporting an 11-0 record and winning 30 of 33 sets in Fort Myers.
VanLiew had a match-high 18 kills against UNF on Oct. 4, while Axner had 13 digs. Lockey chipped in 37 assists, while Morris had five blocks.
Green and Blue Notes:
Last Tuesday, Axner became the seventh player in program history to reach 1,000 career digs in the team's straight-set win over Bethune-Cookman. She tallied 20 in the match and now sits at 1,035. The sophomore reached the milestone in just 56 career matches, becoming the fastest to do so in program history, and she already ranks fifth in the program's Division I era in career digs. The last player to reach the milestone was Amanda Carroll on Aug. 31, 2018.
Furthermore, Axner has extended her season-high streak of matches with 10 or more digs to 17. She had her career-high 28-match streak snapped on Sept. 13 against Indiana, which was the only time this year she failed to record at least 10 and was a streak that dated back to Sept. 21 of last year. Nationally, her 411 digs overall and 5.14 per set rank 37th and 17th, respectively.
VanLiew, who is one of just three players in program history to achieve at least 1,000 kills and 500 digs in a career along with Carroll and Brooke Youngquist Sweat, has double-digit kills in 19 of 25 matches overall this year. On Oct. 5, she concluded a program record-tying streak of 15 consecutive matches with at least 10 or more kills, tying Eleonora Kazarian (Sept. 20 - Nov. 7, 2014) and Ana Kokanovic (Oct. 4 - Nov. 15, 2008). On top of that, she has seven of her 26 career double-doubles this year and ranks among the top 50 nationally in attacks/set, kills/set, points, points/set and kills.
Serrano, a senior middle blocker who already holds all of FGCU's career blocking records, continues her chase to become the A-SUN's all-time blocks leader. She currently sits in second with 443.0, just 32 shy of surpassing Meredith Hardy's (ETSU, 2010-13, 474.0) all-time mark.
Lockey has tallied at least 20 assists in every match this year, as well as 30 or more in 22 of 25 matches. Furthermore, she has eight matches with at least 40, including a career-high 54 against San Diego State on Aug. 31 and UCF on Sept. 20. She has five double-doubles this year in assists and digs, as well as two matches with at least 30 assists, five kills, five digs and two blocks. She is 77 assists shy of producing the 10th season with at least 1,000 in program history.
Burnam inched her way up the record book in several categories against Liberty on Tuesday. Not only is she now three kills shy of becoming the 11th player in the program's Division I era with at least 600 in a career, but she is in sole possession of ninth place on the career block assist list with 156, moved into the top 10 in career blocks with 167 and needs one more point to move into the top 10 in that career category.
FGCU VB vs Liberty Recap
The FGCU volleyball team (22-3, 10-1 A-SUN) pulled away with at home for A-SUN play as they shutout Liberty (14-9, 7-4 A-SUN) 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-22). With the win, the Eagles are now 4-1 against the Flames and have split the series. In addition the win, FGCU not only extended its season-best winning streak to 12 and stayed in sole possession of first place in the A-SUN standings, but they have also won 19 consecutive sets, while also remaining undefeated at home (10-0).
The Eagles have tied Creighton and New Mexico State for the seventh-longest winning streak nationally. They are four shy of matching the program's Division I era winning streak record of 16 set last year.
Longest Division I winning streaks
1. Western Kentucky - 20
2. Colorado State - 19
3. South Dakota - 18
4. Stephen F. Austin - 15
5. Towson - 14
6. Fairfield - 13
7. Creighton - 12
FGCU - 12
New Mexico State - 12
10. VCU - 11
Meanwhile, FGCU's set streak is three shy of matching the 2017 team for the second-longest in the program's Division I era behind the 2007 team, who won 30 straight. Additionally, FGCU is now tied with Stephen F. Austin and Milwaukee for the second-most wins in the nation behind Western Kentucky (23).
Most Division I victories
1. Western Kentucky - 23
2. Stephen F. Austin - 22
Milwaukee - 22
FGCU - 22
5. Pittsburgh - 21
South Dakota - 21
7. Colorado State - 20
Towson - 20
"We found offense in some different places," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "Snowy had a huge offensive output for us. Tori obviously early on. Dani was having some success on the offensive end. So, I think it was a little easier to distribute. It makes it harder to defend us. We didn't hit for some outstanding numbers but we got a lot of good looks at some different locations along the net. So, that made things a little easier and the defense continued to do what it's been doing all season."
"FGCU played really consistent tonight and we didn't," said Liberty head coach Trevor Johnson. "I think we saw glimpses of how great we can be. We could never get into any kind of rhythm and sustain it. The leadership of Hannah and Anna has been awesome all year and I'm proud of what they bring in day in and day out. One practice to get better tomorrow and the Lipscomb Thursday. We need you Flames Nation on Thursday!"
Offensively, it was freshman Erin Shoemaker that led the Eagles. Shoemaker finished with a team-leading 10 kills and three digs, while sophomore Tori Morris and junior Snowy Burnam had eight kills each. Morris added two digs and solo block, while Burnam added seven digs and three blocks.
"Tori and Snowy were outstanding, right from the start," Botsford said. "Tori what she was doing at the net, impacting their hitters, but probably the most significant thing was what she did offensively. And because of the quick start she had, it started to open things up because they had to make sure they were honoring her presence up there. And that was part of the reason Snowy had the success she had and that started to move around the court."
Sophomore Chelsea Lockey finished with 35 assists, one kill, two blocks and three digs.
Although her offensive game was a struggle, junior Cortney VanLiew finished with seven kills, 16 digs, an assist, an ace and two blocks.
Defensively, it was senior Daniele Serrano and sophomore Dana Axner that led the Eagles. Serrano finished offensively with six kills, but lead the way with seven blocks (one solo), while Axner finished with 16 digs.
Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll had an ace and three digs while junior Alayna Ryan had an ace, an assist and a dig.
Senior Casey Goodwin and redshirt junior Amelia Johnson lead the Lady Flames with nine kills each, while senior Hannah Morris had a double-double of 15 assists and 10 digs.
Defensively, senior Anna Gragg had five blocks while junior Macy Phillips had 20 digs.
In the opening set, FGCU produced a pair of 5-0 runs that proved crucial. The first one was capped by a kill from VanLiew and put the Eagles up 15-8, while the final run came to close the set and featured a pair of kills from Shomaker, including a ferocious overpass kill on the set-winner.
Another kill from VanLiew capped a 12-2 run for the Eagles early in the second set, but the Flames responded with a 7-0 run that trimmed their deficit to three. Despite that, FGCU didn't let their lead dip below that mark as Morris and Burnam capped the set with back-to-back kills.
The final set saw Liberty take several leads including a 14-13 advantage following a 3-0 run. Shomaker and VanLiew, though, answered with back-to-back kills to spur a 5-1 run for the Green and Blue. Although the teams exchanged the final eight points back and forth, FGCU never trailed by fewer than two the rest of the way.
Notes:
Morris' solo block put her at 145 in her career and needs nine to surpass Roberta Santos (153, 2007-08) for 14th all-time in total blocks.
Burnam's eight kills put her at 597 and remains three shy of becoming the 15th Eagle to reach 600 career kills while needing 53 to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time.
In digs, Burnam's seven digs put her at 543 and needs 10 to surpass Jill Hopper (552, 2011-13) for 17th all-time.
Burnam's three blocks were all block assists that put her at career total blocking at 167 (156 block assists) surpassing Elenora Kazarian (165, 2013-15) for 12th all-time and tying Devon Watts (156, 2004-05) for 10th all-time. Burnam's next milestone in block assists is a neck-and-neck battle with Carroll for the top 10 as Carroll has 157 block assists (six this season), while the milestone for total blocks is Lauren Tutwiler (170, 2014-15) for 11th all-time.
Lockey's 35 assists put her at 1,293 career assists and needs 112 to surpass Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) for fifth all-time.
VanLiew's seven kills put her at 1,107 and needs 26 to surpass Olivia Mesner (1,132, 2011-14) for third all-time. Meanwhile her 16 digs put her at 708 in her career as she became the 13th Eagle to reach 700 career digs. Her next milestone is Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time.
Serrano's six kills put her at 774 in her career and needs 26 more to become the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills and 64 shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile Serrano's seven blocks put her at 445 and needs 30 to surpass ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks.
Axner's 16 digs put her at 1,035 and needs 50 to surpass Courtney Stephens (1,084, 2014-17) for sixth all-time.
Carroll's lone ace put her at 133 in her career and need eight to to surpass Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) as the all-time leader while her three digs put her at 1,184.
Botsford earned his 137th career win with the Eagles (378th overall) while longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 288th career win (315th overall) and second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 76th.
The Eagles clinched a spot in the A-SUN tournament with Tuesday's win and have also now won 10 or more matches in conference play in six consecutive seasons.
A-SUN Scores:
Kennesaw State (16-7, 9-2 A-SUN) shutout NJIT (1-25, 0-10 A-SUN) 3-0 Tuesday morning at home. The Owls will return to action Saturday night, November 2 at 7 pm as they remain at home to take on Lipscomb. The Highlanders will return to action Friday night, November 1 at home as they welcome UNF (11-14, 4-6 A-SUN) to Newark.
The Flames will return to action on Halloween as they return home to take on Lipscomb (11-10, 7-3 A-SUN) at 7 pm.
Stetson (9-11, 6-4 A-SUN) will be in action at home as they welcome Jacksonville (7-17, 3-7 A-SUN) Wednesday night, October 30 at 6 pm. The Dolphins will play North Alabama (3-21, 1-10 A-SUN) on Halloween night in Jacksonville at 7 pm.
Up Next:
The Eagles remain at home for their final two home matches on the weekend as they welcome Stetson Friday night, November 1 at 7 pm before playing UNF Sunday afternoon, November 3 at 2 pm. The match will be dubbed as senior night for Giovanna Borgiotti, Daniele Serrano and Amanda Carroll, while the match vs UNF will be dubbed as a green out.
The Eagles have tied Creighton and New Mexico State for the seventh-longest winning streak nationally. They are four shy of matching the program's Division I era winning streak record of 16 set last year.
Longest Division I winning streaks
1. Western Kentucky - 20
2. Colorado State - 19
3. South Dakota - 18
4. Stephen F. Austin - 15
5. Towson - 14
6. Fairfield - 13
7. Creighton - 12
FGCU - 12
New Mexico State - 12
10. VCU - 11
Meanwhile, FGCU's set streak is three shy of matching the 2017 team for the second-longest in the program's Division I era behind the 2007 team, who won 30 straight. Additionally, FGCU is now tied with Stephen F. Austin and Milwaukee for the second-most wins in the nation behind Western Kentucky (23).
Most Division I victories
1. Western Kentucky - 23
2. Stephen F. Austin - 22
Milwaukee - 22
FGCU - 22
5. Pittsburgh - 21
South Dakota - 21
7. Colorado State - 20
Towson - 20
"We found offense in some different places," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "Snowy had a huge offensive output for us. Tori obviously early on. Dani was having some success on the offensive end. So, I think it was a little easier to distribute. It makes it harder to defend us. We didn't hit for some outstanding numbers but we got a lot of good looks at some different locations along the net. So, that made things a little easier and the defense continued to do what it's been doing all season."
"FGCU played really consistent tonight and we didn't," said Liberty head coach Trevor Johnson. "I think we saw glimpses of how great we can be. We could never get into any kind of rhythm and sustain it. The leadership of Hannah and Anna has been awesome all year and I'm proud of what they bring in day in and day out. One practice to get better tomorrow and the Lipscomb Thursday. We need you Flames Nation on Thursday!"
Offensively, it was freshman Erin Shoemaker that led the Eagles. Shoemaker finished with a team-leading 10 kills and three digs, while sophomore Tori Morris and junior Snowy Burnam had eight kills each. Morris added two digs and solo block, while Burnam added seven digs and three blocks.
"Tori and Snowy were outstanding, right from the start," Botsford said. "Tori what she was doing at the net, impacting their hitters, but probably the most significant thing was what she did offensively. And because of the quick start she had, it started to open things up because they had to make sure they were honoring her presence up there. And that was part of the reason Snowy had the success she had and that started to move around the court."
Sophomore Chelsea Lockey finished with 35 assists, one kill, two blocks and three digs.
Although her offensive game was a struggle, junior Cortney VanLiew finished with seven kills, 16 digs, an assist, an ace and two blocks.
Defensively, it was senior Daniele Serrano and sophomore Dana Axner that led the Eagles. Serrano finished offensively with six kills, but lead the way with seven blocks (one solo), while Axner finished with 16 digs.
Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll had an ace and three digs while junior Alayna Ryan had an ace, an assist and a dig.
Senior Casey Goodwin and redshirt junior Amelia Johnson lead the Lady Flames with nine kills each, while senior Hannah Morris had a double-double of 15 assists and 10 digs.
Defensively, senior Anna Gragg had five blocks while junior Macy Phillips had 20 digs.
In the opening set, FGCU produced a pair of 5-0 runs that proved crucial. The first one was capped by a kill from VanLiew and put the Eagles up 15-8, while the final run came to close the set and featured a pair of kills from Shomaker, including a ferocious overpass kill on the set-winner.
Another kill from VanLiew capped a 12-2 run for the Eagles early in the second set, but the Flames responded with a 7-0 run that trimmed their deficit to three. Despite that, FGCU didn't let their lead dip below that mark as Morris and Burnam capped the set with back-to-back kills.
The final set saw Liberty take several leads including a 14-13 advantage following a 3-0 run. Shomaker and VanLiew, though, answered with back-to-back kills to spur a 5-1 run for the Green and Blue. Although the teams exchanged the final eight points back and forth, FGCU never trailed by fewer than two the rest of the way.
Notes:
Morris' solo block put her at 145 in her career and needs nine to surpass Roberta Santos (153, 2007-08) for 14th all-time in total blocks.
Burnam's eight kills put her at 597 and remains three shy of becoming the 15th Eagle to reach 600 career kills while needing 53 to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time.
In digs, Burnam's seven digs put her at 543 and needs 10 to surpass Jill Hopper (552, 2011-13) for 17th all-time.
Burnam's three blocks were all block assists that put her at career total blocking at 167 (156 block assists) surpassing Elenora Kazarian (165, 2013-15) for 12th all-time and tying Devon Watts (156, 2004-05) for 10th all-time. Burnam's next milestone in block assists is a neck-and-neck battle with Carroll for the top 10 as Carroll has 157 block assists (six this season), while the milestone for total blocks is Lauren Tutwiler (170, 2014-15) for 11th all-time.
Lockey's 35 assists put her at 1,293 career assists and needs 112 to surpass Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) for fifth all-time.
VanLiew's seven kills put her at 1,107 and needs 26 to surpass Olivia Mesner (1,132, 2011-14) for third all-time. Meanwhile her 16 digs put her at 708 in her career as she became the 13th Eagle to reach 700 career digs. Her next milestone is Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time.
Serrano's six kills put her at 774 in her career and needs 26 more to become the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills and 64 shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile Serrano's seven blocks put her at 445 and needs 30 to surpass ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks.
Axner's 16 digs put her at 1,035 and needs 50 to surpass Courtney Stephens (1,084, 2014-17) for sixth all-time.
Carroll's lone ace put her at 133 in her career and need eight to to surpass Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) as the all-time leader while her three digs put her at 1,184.
Botsford earned his 137th career win with the Eagles (378th overall) while longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 288th career win (315th overall) and second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 76th.
The Eagles clinched a spot in the A-SUN tournament with Tuesday's win and have also now won 10 or more matches in conference play in six consecutive seasons.
A-SUN Scores:
Kennesaw State (16-7, 9-2 A-SUN) shutout NJIT (1-25, 0-10 A-SUN) 3-0 Tuesday morning at home. The Owls will return to action Saturday night, November 2 at 7 pm as they remain at home to take on Lipscomb. The Highlanders will return to action Friday night, November 1 at home as they welcome UNF (11-14, 4-6 A-SUN) to Newark.
The Flames will return to action on Halloween as they return home to take on Lipscomb (11-10, 7-3 A-SUN) at 7 pm.
Stetson (9-11, 6-4 A-SUN) will be in action at home as they welcome Jacksonville (7-17, 3-7 A-SUN) Wednesday night, October 30 at 6 pm. The Dolphins will play North Alabama (3-21, 1-10 A-SUN) on Halloween night in Jacksonville at 7 pm.
A-SUN Standings:
1. FGCU (22-3, 10-1 A-SUN)
1. Kennesaw State (16-7, 9-2 A-SUN)
3. Lipscomb (11-10, 7-3 A-SUN)
4. Liberty (14-9, 7-4 A-SUN)
5. Stetson (9-11, 6-4 A-SUN)
6. North Florida (11-14, 4-6 A-SUN)
7. Jacksonville (7-17, 3-7 A-SUN)
8. North Alabama (3-21, 1-10 A-SUN)
9. NJIT (1-25, 0-10 A-SUN)
Up Next:
The Eagles remain at home for their final two home matches on the weekend as they welcome Stetson Friday night, November 1 at 7 pm before playing UNF Sunday afternoon, November 3 at 2 pm. The match will be dubbed as senior night for Giovanna Borgiotti, Daniele Serrano and Amanda Carroll, while the match vs UNF will be dubbed as a green out.
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