FGCU MSOC vs JU Preview

The FGCU men's soccer team (4-6-2, 1-0-1 A-SUN) looks to gain ground in the A-SUN standings as the Eagles host Jacksonville (4-3-2, 0-2-1 A-SUN) Saturday night at the FGCU Soccer Complex.

In honor of cancer awareness night Saturday's contest will be a pink out. The FGCU Marketing staff will be selling "Together We Are Stronger Than Cancer" t-shirts for $15. All proceeds will go towards the American Cancer Society.

The Green and Blue:
FGCU is coming off a 3-2 double overtime loss to #15 FIU Tuesday night. O'Vonte Mullings and Jahan Rajaee netted both scores for the Eagles as Ivan Rosales tallied both assists. Mullings leads the Eagles' attack with 10 points scoring four goals along with a pair of helpers. Including Mullings, six different Eagles have registered at least two assists.

So far through 12 games, the Eagles have played arguably the toughest schedule in program history. Nine of the teams have been at one point nationally ranked or receiving votes in national polls.

Scouting the Dolphins:
Jacksonville comes into the Nest with an overall 4-3-2 record going 0-2-1 in the A-SUN. Connar Lufkin fuels the charge up front with three goals and one assist. Meanwhile, three other Dolphins have scored at least twice. In just over 850 minutes in between the pipes for JU, Matt Levy holds a 1.27 GAA, securing 48 saves.

FGCU leads the all-time series 10-3, going 6-1 in home games.

A-SUN Standings
T-1. Stetson (6-5-1, 2-0-1)
T-1. UNF (3-4-2, 2-0-1)
3. FGCU (4-6-2, 1-0-1)
T-4. NJIT (4-3-4, 1-1-0)
T-4. Lipscomb (3-5-1, 1-1-0)
6. Jacksonville (4-3-2, 0-2-1)
7. Liberty (4-8-0, 0-3-0)

FGCU WSOC vs Kennessaw Recap

The FGCU women's soccer team (8-3-1, 3-0-1 A-SUN) collected its sixth shutout of the season as the Eagles handed Kennesaw State (7-7-0, 2-3-0 A-SUN) a 2-0 loss Thursday night at the FGCU Soccer Complex. The Eagles are tied for second in the league standings with UNF. The Liberty Flames, who have played one more conference match than the Green and Blue, remain at the top of the A-SUN.

"This felt like a playoff game, it had that level of energy," head coach Jim Blankenship said. "This is a huge result for us. We tip our hats to them because we knew this would be a tough game for us and they beat us last year. I'm really proud of how the players came out, responded to pressure and competed the whole game."

"It was a tough battle tonight, and I'm proud of our team's effort," said Kennesaw head coach Benji Walton. "We will look to rebound for a tough game on Sunday."

For starting goalkeepers, Blakenship sent senior Melissa Weck to the posts while Walton sent redshirt junior Tiffany Sornpao to counter.

Senior Evdokia Popadinova tallied a shot on-frame in the first 30 seconds of the match, providing evidence of the high level of intensity that the Eagles brought against the Owls right out of the gate.  FGCU forced Kennesaw State to make three saves before the visiting team challenged Weck in the 23rd minute, marking the Green and Blue keeper's first save of the night.

Freshman Louise Lillback found the back of the net for the sixth time this season with about 15 minutes left in the first half to cap off an unassisted drive. The shot marked the third time that the rookie has scored in the team's last four matches. FGCU took the 1-0 edge into the break, as well as a 13-5 advantage in shots.

The Owls stepped up their intensity in the second stanza and forced Weck to make a highlight-reel stop in the 59th minute to prevent the equalizer. That shot was one of two that Kennesaw State tallied in the entire second half of play, as the Eagles' back line continued to flex the dominance it has recently shown.

Senior Silvana Gordon put the game away for FGCU, driving in a cross from Lillback with less than four minutes left in the match. The goal was Gordon's first of the season and the fourth of her career. From there, the Eagles held on for the win.

Weck (8-3-1) collected her fifth shutout of the season and was only required to make three saves. She is now just 4.7 shutouts away from the FGCU career record with five matches left in the regular season. Lillback now leads the team with 16 points, which she has tallied from six goals and four assists.

Sornpao (6-6) would earn the loss after giving up both goals

Up Next
FGCU will host conference foe NJIT (5-3-3, 2-0-1 A-SUN) in a 1 p.m. match on Sunday, Oct. 13 at the FGCU Soccer Complex. Prior to kick-off, head coach Jim Blankenship and his staff will honor the eight members of the graduating class: Marjorie Boilesen, Opal Curless, Silvana Gordon, Emilie Olsen, Lindsey Patton, Evdokia Popadinova, Petra Smetkova and Melissa Weck. Fans are invited to participate in a white out and to join the team for the senior ceremony, which will begin at 12:35 p.m..

A-SUN Standings
1. Liberty (8-5-2, 4-1-0 A-SUN)
T-2. UNF (9-3-2, 3-0-1 A-SUN)
T-2. FGCU (8-3-1, 3-0-1 A-SUN)
T-4. Lipscomb (8-5-1, 2-1-1 A-SUN)
T-4. NJIT (5-3-3, 2-0-1 A-SUN)
6. Kennesaw State (7-7-0, 2-3-0 A-SUN)
T-7. Stetson (2-9-2, 0-3-1 A-SUN)
T-7. Jacksonville (0-10-3, 0-4-1 A-SUN)
9. North Alabama (4-9-0, 0-4-0 A-SUN)

FGCU VB vs JU; Kennesaw Preview

The FGCU volleyball team (14-3, 4-1 A-SUN) set for a big weekend in A-SUN Conference play home the Alico Arena as they welcome Jacksonville (7-11, 3-1 A-SUN) Friday night (Oct. 11 at 6 pm) before closing out by facing Kennesaw State (11-5, 4-0 A-SUN) Sunday afternoon (October 13 at 2 pm).

Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off finishing this past weekend of A-SUN play on the road as they shutout UNF 3-0 in Jacksonville before traveling to Deland and defeated Stetson 3-1. Currently, the Eagles sit in second place in the A-SUN.

Personal opinion: Realistically, I'm already confident that we will make it to the A-SUN Conference Tournament because of how they've been doing.

What It Do:
Junior Cortney VanLiew continues to lead the offense for the Eagles while achieving several milestones along the way. VanLiew currently has 263 kills in her name along with 14 aces, while also adding 122 digs and 28 blocks (five solo) on the defensive side. VanLiew had 32 kills, 16 digs, one ace and two blocks combined in the matches against UNF and Stetson, which included her sixth career double-double against Stetson.

Meanwhile, VanLiew has 1,053 career kills (fourth all-time) but has also moved up in several spots in solo blocks and digs. VanLiew earned her 20th solo block against Stetson, which tied Brooke Kohler (20, 2011-12) for 15th all-time. VanLiew needs one to pass Kohler and two to pass Cara Ziegler (21, 2006-07), Karina Mambuca (21, 2012-13) and Roberta Santos (21, 2007-08) for 12th all-time. In digs, VanLiew moved her up to 656 and needs 26 to pass Vanessa Benke (681, 2013-15) for 13th all-time.

Cold Spell:
Junior Snowy Burnam has been a big factor both offensively and defensively. Burnam is fourth on the team with 106 kills and tied for third in blocks (39, two solo). In her matches against UNF and Stetson, Burnam was held to four kills and three blocks against UNF before leading the offense with 17 kills and four blocks against Stetson.

Furthermore, Burnam has 551 career and is 22 shy of surpassing Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 15th all-time while battling senior Giovanna Borgiotti (535 career kills) in the top 20 in career kills.

In addition, Burnam's nine digs against Stetson put her at 483 as she surpassed Ana Kokanovic (476, 2007-08) for 19th all-time and needs 17 more to become the 19th Eagle to reach 500 digs and 41 to surpass Ingrid Felicio (524, 2004-05) for 18th all-time.

Sweet and Spicy:
Senior Daniele Serrano has also been making her marks offensively and defensively. Serrano is third on the team in kills (112) but leads the team with 54 blocks (eight solo). Serrano had a combined 15 kills and five blocks (one solo).

As far as milestones, the Sanford native has 726 career kills and 417 career blocks. Serrano's nine kills against Stetson passed Jill Hopper (725, 2011-13) for eighth all-time and needs 112 to pass Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile, her five blocks put her at 417 as she is now six shy of passing Campbell's Rachel Templin (422, 2003-06) for third most in A-SUN history. Serrano's solo block against UNF tied with Olivia Mesner's (62, 2011-14) program record for most solo swats in a career and needs one to become the all-time leader.

Timber!!!:
For sophomore Dana Axner, she currently leads the team with 303 digs while adding 15 aces in her name. In her matches against UNF and Stetson, Axner totaled a combined 42 digs and four aces, In her career, the native of Dublin, Ohio has 927 career digs (eighth all-time) and needs 21 to pass Gigi Meyer (947, 2011-14) for seventh all-time.

Lock and Load:
Sophomore Chelsea Lockey still leads the team with 658 assists while adding 134 digs, 14 aces and 28 blocks. In the matches against UNF and Stetson, Lockey had 89 assists, 17 digs, four aces and three blocks. In her career, Lockey has 1,135 career assists and recently surpassed Camille Dominguez (1,089, 2010-11) for sixth all-time in the match against Stetson. Lockey's next milestone is Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) and needs 341 to become fifth all-time.

Coach 300s:
As noted before, head coach Matt Botsford and longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy have been on track on their coaching careers.

Botsford earned his 129th and 130th win as a coach for the Eagles against UNF and Stetson, but in his career he has 371 career wins. The wins include as an assistant coach with Indianapolis (NCAA Division II, 1999-2000), IUPUI (2001-2004), Miami (2004-2008), Notre Dame (2008-11) and Colorado State (2012-14).

Mahy, who enters his 14th year as assistant coach, earned his 280th and 281st wins this past weekend as a coach for the Eagles and earned his 307th and 308th in his career. 28 of Mahy's career wins were with NCAA DII Barry University (2006-07) for two seasons before returning to FGCU in 2008.

Mahy has coached for all three head coaches for FGCU in his 14 seasons with the Eagles: Jaye Flood (2003-05), Dave Nichols (2006-13*) and Botsford (2014-present).

*Mahy was with Nichols at Barry prior to returning to FGCU.

Scouting Jacksonville:
The Dolphins are coming off of this past weekend in success after defeating NJIT 3-1 at home before shutting out North Alabama on the road. The Dolphins are currently in fourth place in the A-SUN.

Senior Mallory Mattingly leads the Dolphins offensively with 261 kills and 28 aces. Mattingly earned her 1,000th career kill against North Alabama.

Freshman Lexi Wierzbicki follows Mattingly with 193 kills, while sophomore Natalie Martin has 672 assists.

Defensively, freshman Sydney Bolding has 54 blocks in her name (five solo) while senior Natalie Wehner has 324 digs.

Scouting Kennesaw:
The Owls are coming off of defeating Lipscomb 3-1 last Friday and will play at home (Oct. 11) prior to playing FGCU.

Offensively, junior Lauren Chastang leads the Owls with 227 kills and 34 aces while classmate Quin Sutphin follows with 155 kills of her own.

Senior and defending A-SUN Setter of the Year Lexi Broadwater leads away with 701 assists.

Defensively, Sutphin (47 blocks) and sophomore Jasmine Brown (44 blocks) lead the way for the Owls in blocking while junior Karlee Groover has 266 digs.

Series History:
FGCU has won 15 of 25 all-time matchups against Kennesaw State with victories in the past two, both of which came on the road. They own a 7-3 record at home, and the Owls have taken the past two in Alico Arena.

Meanwhile, the Green and Blue are 18-11 all-time against Jacksonville with wins in three straight and seven of the past eight in the series, including wins in nine consecutive sets. FGCU is 9-4 in Alico Arena against the Dolphins.

How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available for both matches and will air livestream. The match vs Jacksonville will air on the FGCU volleyball Facebook page while the match against Kennesaw will air on ESPN+. Commentary for the FGCU/Kennesaw match will done by play-by-play commentator John Vittas and color commentator and Florida Southwestern head volleyball coach Thais Baziquetto-Allen.

Fans can also keep up to date with all three teams on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_VB
Kennesaw: @KSUOwlsVB
JU: @JAX_Volleyball

Promos:
On Friday, the marketing department will be promoting Cancer Awareness Night with all fans encouraged to wear pink. There will be "together we're stronger than cancer" t-shirts available for $15. On Sunday, fans are encouraged to wear white or beach gear as part of "Beach Bash in The Nest."

ESPN+:

The A-SUN 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 or a $39.99 per-year fee based on the viewers subscription choice.

A-SUN Standings (as of Oct. 9):
1. Kennesaw State- 11-5 (4-0)
2. FGCU- 14-3 (4-1)
    Liberty- 11-6 (4-1)
4. Jacksonville- 7-11 (3-1)
5. Lipscomb- 7-9 (3-2)
6. North Florida- 7-11 (1-3)
7. North Alabama- 3-15 (1-4)
8. Stetson- 3-11 (0-4)
    NJIT- 1-18 (0-4)

Livestats Links:
vs Jacksonville- http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=273131
vs Kennesaw- http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=273132

Livestream Link:
vs Jacksonville- https://www.facebook.com/fgcuvolleyball

vs Kennesaw- https://www.espn.com/watch?id=31e6fabf-55cf-4981-b054-8f17ba82df13

SCF VB Returns to Suncoast Action vs HCC/SPC

The SCF volleyball team (2-16, 0-3 Suncoast) are still looking for their first conference win of the season as they remain at home for Suncoast Conference play. The Manatees will welcome #15 Hillsborough (19-4, 3-1 Suncoast) on Tuesday night, October 6 at 6 pm before facing #9 St. Pete College (9-2, 2-1 Suncoast) Thursday night, October 8 at 6 pm.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees are coming off of competing in their final FCSAA Crossover matches of the season after falling 3-2 to an arrogant Palm Beach State before being shutout 3-0 to Indian River State.

Offensively, the duo of sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom and freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai remain the key player for kills. Esseboom leads the team with 131 kills to go with her 24 digs, while Wilcox-Nanai has 110 kills and 153 digs. In the last two matches, Esseboom had a combined 13 kills and four blocks while Wilcox-Nanai had 13 kills and 22 digs, which included a double-double against PBSC.

Freshman Gracie Carpino leads the team with 436 assists in her along with 21 aces. Carpino had 69 combined assists and two aces in both matches.

Defensively, sophomore Barbora Tichackova leads the team with 55 blocks (16 solo) and aces (22) while adding 58 kills in her name. Tichackova had six kills and seven block (three solo) in the match against PBSC, but did not provide any stats in the match against Indian River.

Another player on the defensive front is sophomore Sydney Jaco. Jaco leads the team with 355 digs while producing 1,139 career digs. Jaco had 50 combined digs in both matches. In fact, her 31 in the match against PBSC put her on the FCSAA 25 Dig Club for the fourth time this season and 16th time in her career.

Freshman Brooke Henry is third on the team with 120 digs. Henry had six combined digs in both matches.

Freshman Lisa Jaunet and sophomore Daviya Bernard have also made big contributions both offensively and defensively. Offensively, Jaunet is third on the team with 84 kills while Bernard is fourth on the team with 78 kills. Defensively, both have 25 blocks each (seven solo each).

Jaunet had one of her best matches this season as she had a double-double of 18 kills and 10 digs against PBSC, while adding a block and two aces.

Bernard had three kills and a block in the match against Indian River.

A wild card that has brought some notice is freshman Jazmin Spencer. Spencer has 44 kills and 12 blocks (six solo) in her name. Spencer had seven kills and three blocks (two solo) in her last two matches.

Scouting HCC:
The Hawks are ranked #5 in the FCSAA Coaches Poll and #11 in the NJCAA National Poll. In their last outing, the Hawks are coming off of defeating Palm Beach State (3-1) and Indian River State (3-2) in their crossover matches.

Offensively, freshman Isabel Martin leads the team with 353 kills and 25 aces while going second in digs (224). In her crossover matches, Martin had a combined 39 kills and 10 digs.

The Hawks will likely use a double setter formation with freshman Zoe Konjer and sophomore Mariana Volponi e Giordan. Konjer and Volponi e Giordan have produced a combined 877 assists (Konjer: 336,  Volponi e Giordan: 541). In their last outings, Konjer did not play against Broward and had five assists against Miami Dade while Volponi e Giordan had 82 combined assists in both matches.

Defensively, freshman middle blocker Nadine Burbrink and sophomore libero Caroline Molossi-Benke play key roles.

Burbrink leads the team with 80 blocks (23 solo) to go along with 134 kills (third on the team) and 14 aces (third on the team). Burbrink had 21 kills and five blocks in her last outings.

Following the pedigree and footsteps of her older sister and FGCU alum Vanessa Benke, Molossi-Benke leads the team with 349 digs and 16 aces (second on the team). In her last two matches, the product out of Toledo, Brazil had 20 digs and one ace.

Scouting SPC:
The Titans are ranked #3 in the FCSAA Coaches Poll and #9 in the NJCAA National Poll. They recently played in their crossover matches against Miami Dade and Broward College winning both matches by a score of 3-2 vs Miami Dade and a 3-0 shutout over Broward. The Titans will play Florida Southwestern Tuesday night in St. Pete at 6 pm.

The sophomore duo of Andressa Praise and Roberta Ribeiro lead the Titans offensively. Praise leads the team with 145 kills while Ribiero has 110. In their crossover matches, Praise had a combined 26 kills while Ribiero had 24 kills.

Defensively, Praise lead the team with 42 blocks (30 solo) while classmate Kateryna Dashevska has a team-leading 110 digs and 15 aces (2nd on the team). Dashevska had a combined 26 digs and one ace in the crossover matches.

Series History (2012-present):
Against both teams, the Manatees are 5-15 against the Hawks while against the Titans they are 7-13. The Manatees both teams earlier in the season losing 3-0 to both.

Last season, the Manatees fell to the Hawks and the Titans three times. Their last win over both teams was on October 3, 2017 (3-0 @ HCC) and October 27, 2014 (3-0 @ SPC).

How to Keep Up:
Livestream will be provided on the SCF Sports Network page.

Fans can keep up with all three teams on Twitter:
SCF: @SCFVolleyball
HCC: @vb_hawks
SPC: @spcnews

Livestream Link: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/scf/

SCF Falls in Five vs Palm Beach; Gets Shutout vs Indian River

The SCF volleyball team (2-16, 0-3 Suncoast) fought hard in their matches against Palm Beach State and Indian River State at home. The Manatees fell 3-2 (26-24, 24-26, 25-22, 22-25, 8-15) to PBSC (4-12, 0-3 Southern) on Friday before being shutout 3-0 (20-25, 16-25, 18-25) to IRS (11-7, 1-2).

SCF vs PBSC:
"I think it was a good match," said freshman Lisa Jaunet. "We had this energy that kept us going and that's our strength, so it was really good but we had trouble finishing the set and the game overall, which was kind of hard.

"I think we played our best," said sophomore Barbora Tichackova. "Everyone left everything on the floor and we played hard as a team, which I really liked. We had a few new things were trying to work on during and we also executed really well. Overall, I felt good about the game, despite the loss."

Offensively, it was Jaunet and classmate Leilani Wilcox-Nanai and sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom that the Manatees offensively. Jaunet and Wilcox-Nanai each had a double-double with Jaunet leading with 18 kills and 16 digs, while Wilcox-Nanai had 10 kills and 16 digs. Jaunet added an assist and a block, while Wilcox-Nanai added two aces and four blocks. Esseboom was two digs shy of a double-double as she followed Jaunet with 13 kills, eight digs and a block.

"It wasn't my best game," said Jaunet on her performance. "I think I did ok. The whole team did good overall. I did make a few mistakes, but overall it was good, even though the opposing team (PBSC) were taunting us and that's what kept me going."

Freshman Gracee Carpino was also shy of a double-double after finishing the match with 49 assists, nine digs, a kill and two aces.

Defensively, it was Tichackova that led the team with a tied career-high seven blocks (three solo: career-high) to go with her six kills, two aces, and three digs.

"It wasn't my best match," said Tichackova. "But I did have some key blocks and with Gracee (Carpino), we closed out the second set with a big kill, which was pretty good. I felt like I could have done better on serving, but it was good."

Sophomore Sydney Jaco finished with 31 digs.

Other players that contributed for the Manatees included freshmen Jazmin Spencer (three kills, three blocks (two solo)) and Brooke Henry (five digs).

Sophomore Aleksandra Hamuda led the Panthers with a double-double of 19 kills and 10 digs along with two aces and four blocks, while freshman Madison Barton had a double-double of 16 kills and 14 digs to go with her two aces and four blocks.

Freshman Jazmine Sustaita led the Panther defensively with 25 digs and three assists while sophomore Bella Magrino had a team-leading 10 blocks (three solo) to go with her eight kills.

SCF vs IRS:
Esseboom led the Manatees with 10 kills, while Spencer followed with four kills and four digs. Carpino had 20 assists, an ace and six digs.

Jaco led the team defensively with 19 digs to go with her two aces while Wilcox-Nanai had two blocks to go with her three kills.

Freshman Mallory Roney led the Pioneers with 12 kills and four aces, while classmate Tessa Raadshee followed with seven kills.

Freshmen Gabriela Fialova and Jasmine Sayre had 12 digs each.

Other Suncoast Scores:
Florida Southwestern (11-6, 1-2 Suncoast) shutout IRS (10/04) before defeating Palm Beach State (3-1) (10/5). They will play St. Pete College on Tuesday, October 8.

#9 SPC (9-2, 2-1 Suncoast) defeated Miami Dade 3-2 (10/4) before shutting out Broward 3-0 (10/5). They will play SPC Tuesday, October 8.

#15 Hillsborough (19-4, 3-1 Suncoast) shutout Broward 3-0 (10/4) before losing 3-2 to Miami Dade (10/5).

Up Next:
The Manatees remain at home as they welcome #15 HCC to Hal Chasey Gymnasium Tuesday night, October 8 at 6 pm.

FGCU WSOC vs JU Recap

 The FGCU women's soccer team (7-3-1, 2-0-1 A-SUN) extended its unbeaten streak to six matches with a 3-0 win over Jacksonville (0-9-3, 0-3-1 A-SUN) Sunday afternoon at the FGCU Soccer Complex. The Eagles remain one of only three unbeaten teams in conference play and are tied for second place.

"We've been talking a lot to the team about the opportunities that we have at home and how important it is to take care of business here," said head coach Jim Blankenship. "If we take care of business here, it will set us up to be in the driver's seat towards the end of the season. I'm happy with today's result and the way the players competed. Now, we move on to the next one."

For starting goalkeepers, Blakenship sent senior Melissa Weck to the crossbars while JU head coach Laura Busby sent senior Kristian Shores to counter.

The Eagles' offense exploded in the first half, as the team held most of its possession within the front third of the pitch. Senior Evdokia Popadinova found the back of the net just over eight minutes into the game, notching her sixth goal of the season.

FGCU continued to fire shots into the box until freshman Louise Lillback scored another goal for the home team with an unassisted shot from 30 yards out. The goal, Lillback's fifth of the season, gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead, which they held into the break.

In the first stanza, the Green and Blue outshot the Dolphins 14-0. Seven of the team's shots were on-frame and FGCU also held a 9-0 edge in corner kicks.

The Eagles maintained intensity in the second half, as sophomore Ashlee Brentlinger tallied back-to-back, on-frame attempts in the opening minutes. After a collision in the box, Popadinova earned a penalty kick opportunity which she converted for her second goal of the game in the 56th minute.

Freshman Emily Mccue checked into the match in the 63rd minute, replacing Weck. Weck (7-3-1) finished her day without facing any shots. She and McCue combined for the team's sixth shutout of the season.

Shores (0-6-2) earned the loss and finished with a tied career-high 11 saves.

Throughout the match, the Eagles outshot the Dolphins 29-0, forcing Jacksonville's keeper to come up with a season-high 11 saves. As of today's win, which had the team's largest margin of victory this season, Popadinova now leads the team with seven goals on the season. In addition, Popadinova's two goals put her at 21 in her career as she tied with Boilesen for sixth all-time in career goals. Both members of the A-SUN Legion of Doom are neck and neck in surpassing Paulina Speckmaier (22, 2013-16) for fifth all-time

Up Next:
FGCU will remain at the Nest to host Kennesaw State (7-6-0, 2-2-0) on Thursday, Oct. 10 at the FGCU Soccer Complex. The match against the Owls is slated for a 7 p.m. kick-off and it will be Cancer Awareness Night. Pink shirts will be on sale for $15 with the benefits going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Within the next few weeks, the team will face off against the top-ranked programs in the conference. The Eagles will take on NJIT (Oct. 13) and UNF (Oct. 17) at the Nest, both of which are tied with FGCU for second in the league. Liberty, currently first in the league, is slated to host the Eagles on Oct. 20.

A-SUN Standings
1. Liberty (7-4-2, 3-1-0)
T-2. UNF (8-3-2, 2-0-1)
T-2. FGCU (7-3-1. 2-0-1)
T-2. NJIT (5-3-3, 2-0-1)
5. Kennesaw State (7-6-0, 2-2-0)
6. Lipscomb (7-5-1, 1-1-1)
7. Stetson (2-8-2, 0-2-1)
8. Jacksonville (0-9-3, 0-3-1)
9. North Alabama (4-8-0, 0-3-0)

FGCU S&D @ Campbell/Georgia Southern Recap

For the first time since 2015, the FGCU swimming & diving team (4-0, 4-0 CCSA) has started off its season 4-0 after picking up a pair of victories over Campbell (2-2, 2-2 CCSA) (146-94) and host Georgia Southern (0-5, 0-2 CCSA) (172-70) Saturday afternoon at the Recreation Activity Center in Statesboro, Georgia.

"The team had a very solid day," said head coach Dave Rollins. "After shaking off some nerves of their first meet, it was great to see the team rise to the occasion of competing on back-to-back days. In addition to the strong swims in the pool, getting to see our freshmen divers compete for the first time brings a great sense of excitement to the season. Congratulations to Reese on winning both boards in her first collegiate meet. Now, we have three weeks before we welcome Vanderbilt to the Nest and we will be ready."

The Eagles got off to a hot start, grabbing first-place finishes in the opening two events of the meet. The team of freshman Lucija Sulenta, junior Petra Halmai, senior Cassidy Fry and freshman Hailey Jerew edged out Campbell by 0.50 seconds to take the 200-yard medley relay. Freshman Hannah VanDress followed up with her second victory in the 1000-yard freestyle in as many days.

Senior Liz Zeiger and Fry earned back-to-back wins in the 200 IM and the 100 Fly, respectively, to continue the momentum for FGCU. Zeiger also tacked on a win in the 500-yard freestyle, dominating the field by a full six seconds.

In their debut for the Green and Blue, freshmen Reese Wakefield and Delaney Nelson took the top two spots in both the 3M and 1M diving events. Wakefield won both titles, while Nelson was the runner-up. Senior Gretchen Mossburg of Georgia Southern finished third in both events. Along with Wakefield and Nelson, freshmen Isabeau Keene and Alyssa Schmidt also made their debuts.

The Eagles continued to pick up wins, as the team swept the 100-yard breaststroke. Halmai touched the wall first and was followed by seniors Elizabeth White and Emily Glinecke.

Overall, FGCU finished first in eight of the meet's 13 events.

Up Next:
The Eagles will have a few weeks off in preparation for their home opener against Vanderbilt (0-1) on Friday, Oct. 25. The meet at the FGCU Aquatics Complex is set for a 4 p.m. start time and will be a pink out, as the team will be hosting Cancer Awareness Night.

FGCU MSOC vs Lipscomb Recap

The FGCU men's soccer team (4-5-2, 1-0-1 A-SUN) came away with a nail-biting 3-2 victory over conference preseason favorite Lipscomb (2-5-1, 1-1-0 A-SUN) Saturday night at the FGCU Soccer Complex.

The win moves FGCU into third place with four points in the A-SUN as Stetson (6-5-1, 2-0-1) and UNF (3-3-2, 2-0-1) are both tied for first with seven points.

"We had a phenomenal first half, going into the break with a 2-0 lead, but in the second half, we didn't manage it so well," said head coach Jesse Cormier. "We lost some of our composure in the second half and let them get back into it. Overall, I'm happy to come away with the three points against the defending conference champions. We'll put this game behind us, analyze it and be better for the next game when we come back."

“I was proud how we battled back and made it a game in the second half,” Lipscomb men’s soccer head coach Charles Morrow said. “But I really challenged the guys at the end of the game about the way they approached the game and their first half performance.”

For starting goalkeepers, Cormier sent redshirt junior Connor Gavigan to the box while Morrow sent redshirt freshman Alex Brown to counter.

Sophomore O'Vonte Mullings caused problems early on for the Lipscomb back line as the sophomore nearly gave FGCU the lead but his shot in the box just skipped over the cross bar in the 17th minute. His constant pressure finally paid dividends in the 23rd minute as Mullings one-timed a pass from senior Ryan Medilah inside the box from the right-side for the 1-0 lead. This was Mullings' second goal of the season and Medilah's second assist of the season.

Before heading into the half, freshman Aiden Jokomba made it 2-0 courtesy of another pass inside the 18-yard box, this time from redshirt junior Noah Bushey from the left-side. This was Jokomba's second goal of the season and Bushey's first assist of the season.

Despite being down 2-0, Lipscomb cut the deficit down to one with a goal in the 58th minute. The FGCU defense continued to hold its ground and finally go the much needed cushion in the 81st minute as Mullings collected his second goal of the night and third goal of the season. The play started beyond midfield first with junior Chris Clement who then passed it to Bushey past the midfield stripe. From there, he threaded a pass to Mullings who took the one on one matchup and delivered the right-footed shot to the back of the net. It was Clement's first assist of the season and Bushey's second assist of the game and season.

Lipscomb turned the match into a nail-biter scoring in the 89th minute and nearly delivered the equalizer with seconds left on the scoreboard but Gavigan made a diving save to his near post to preserve the 3-2 win for the Eagles.

All said the Eagles outshot the Bisons 17-15 with five of those shots coming on frame. Gavigan, who was making his first start of the year, came up with three saves, all in the second stanza. Mullings led the squad with a game-high five shots.

Gavigan (1-1) would earn his first win after getting three saves.

Brown (0-4) would be dubbed with the loss after earning two saves.

Up Next:
FGCU will face No. 13 FIU (7-0-2) at the FGCU Soccer Complex this Tuesday night (Oct. 8). Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

FGCU VB @ Stetson Recap

The FGCU volleyball team (14-3, 4-1 A-SUN) pulled off another A-SUN win as they defeated Stetson (2-11, 0-4 A-SUN) 3-1 (25-18, 25-14, 25-22, 22-25, 25-13). With the win, the Eagles are now 22-2 against the Hatters

"The serving tonight was outstanding," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "(Assistant Coach) Stephanie (Zielinski) did a great job scouting some potential targets for us and the girls executed from the line extremely well. Stetson is a very good defensive team so we expected some long rallies. I thought our players stayed patient in looking for the right opportunity to terminate and managed well outside of those situations. Snowy and the middles really helped open things up for the offense, and Chelsey found a good balance with distribution throughout the match."

"Overall, we fought. We played hard," Stetson head coach Yang Deng said.  "Obviously they are a good team, and we need to have everyone bring their best to be able to compete.  You can see we still have a lot of potential.  Our consistency is getting better, and that is something we really work hard on in practice.  We are starting to see some results."

Throughout the match, several milestones and jumps in placement came into play.

Offensively, it was juniors Snowy Burnam and Cortney VanLiew and sophomore Chelsea Lockey that led the Eagles. Burnam was one dig shy of her 13th career double-double as she hit a season-high 16 kills to go with her nine digs, two aces and three blocks. With her 16 kills, Burnam now has 551 career kills and is 22 shy of surpassing Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 15th all-time. In addition, Burnam's nine digs put her at 483 as she surpassed Ana Kokanovic (476, 2007-08) for 19th all-time and needs 17 more to become the 19th Eagle to reach 500 digs and 41 to surpass Ingrid Felicio (524, 2004-05) for 18th all-time.

VanLiew and Lockey finished with a double-double each. VanLiew finished with 14 kills and 10 digs, while Lockey finished with 53 assists and 10 digs. VanLiew added a solo block and an ace, while Lockey added two kills, two aces and two blocks.

With her 14 kills, VanLiew now has 1,053 in her career while her 20th career solo block tied Brooke Kohler (20, 2011-12) for 15th all-time and needs one to pass Kohler and two to pass Cara Ziegler (21, 2006-07), Karina Mambuca (21, 2012-13) and Roberta Santos (21, 2007-08) for 12th all-time. VanLiew's 10 digs put her at 656 in her career and needs 26 to pass Vanessa Benke (681, 2013-15) for 13th all-time. Furthermore, her lone service ace put her at 58 in her career. In addition, it was VanLiew's sixth career double-double.

Lockey's 53 assists put her at 1,135 in her career and surpassed Camille Dominguez (1,089, 2010-11) for sixth all-time.

Senior Daniele Serrano and freshman Erin Shoemaker finished with nine kills and two blocks each. Serrano reached two milestones herself as her nine kills put her at 726 as she passed Jill Hopper (725, 2011-13) for eighth all-time. Serrano needs 112 to pass Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile, her two block assists put her at 417 as she is now five shy of passing Campbell's Rachel Templin (422, 2003-06) for third most in A-SUN history.

Sophomore Dana Axner finished with a season-high 29 digs and two aces. Her 29 digs made her the eighth Eagle to reach 900 career digs as she now has 927 and needs 21 to surpass Gigi Meyer (947, 2011-14) for seventh all-time.

"Dana was phenomenal, and as we have grown accustomed to, played at a very high level on the defensive end," Botsford said. "29 digs in four sets is a special performance. She is such a tough competitor and really has learned how to influence the course of a set and match."

Sophomore Tori Morris, who had four kills, joined Burnam in recording a team-high four block assists, while three others had two apiece en route to 14 total as a team.

Shomaker, in addition to her offensive output, notched a season-high six digs, while redshirt senior Amanda Carroll also chipped in six. In fact, Carroll joined Serrano in pushing their career match participation total to 115, surpassing Olivia Mesner (2011-14) for seventh on the program's Division I era list. Carroll also added three aces, which put at 119 in her career. Carroll needs 30 to surpass Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) as the all-time leader.

As a team, FGCU's 12 aces is the fifth-most in a conference match in program history, and the team's 77 digs is tied for the seventh-most in a four-set A-SUN match.

Notes:
Senior Giovanna Borgiotti got one kill in the match that put her at 535 (17th all-time) in her career.

Botsford earned his 130th career win as head coach for the Eagles and his 371st overall win as a coach in the NCAA.

Longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 308th career win as a coach in the NCAA (281st with FGCU) while Zielinski earned her 69th.

Next Up:
FGCU returns home next weekend to host Jacksonville on Friday at 7 p.m. and Kennesaw State on Sunday at 2 p.m. The first one will be Cancer Awareness Night as fans are encouraged to wear pink, while Sunday's tilt will be a rematch of last year's A-SUN championship match.

FGCU S&D vs UNF/Campbell Recap

The FGCU swimming and diving team (2-0, 2-0 CCSA) picked up a pair of wins on Friday afternoon as the team defeated host UNF (0-2, 0-2 CCSA) and Campbell (1-1, 1-1 CCSA) at the Bolles School. The Eagles downed the Ospreys 185-76 and edged out the Camels 133-128.

"It's no secret that we have a young team, but that's what makes it so exciting," said head coach Dave Rollins. "Bringing these girls together for a road trip against CCSA competition was the perfect way for us to start the year. Plus, getting to see some first-time Eagle wins is always special. We are focused on what we need to do to get better week to week, meet to meet. There are some details that we need to clean up, but that's to be expected early in the season. The most important thing is how they react in the moment and how they mentally respond when faced with a challenge."

"We swam against two good teams in our conference today," said UNF head coach Ian Coffey. "I'm very happy with the way raced. We still have some things to work on, but we have made a lot of progress. I am starting to see our hard work paying off and now we get ready for our meet in two weeks."

The quartet of freshman Lucija Sulenta, junior Petra Halmai, senior Cassidy Fry and freshman Kaja Reinhardt won the first event of the meet, dominating the 400-yard medley relay by almost a full three seconds.

The freshman class had a strong showing in its first official meet for FGCU. Freshman Hannah VanDress won the 1000-yard freestyle by seven seconds, laying down her second-fastest split time in the final 50 yards. Sulenta was 0.68 seconds off the winning time in the 100 Back and freshman Anna Hogan finished in the top three of the 100-yard breaststroke. The top three times in Hogan's race were separated by just 0.43 seconds. Reinhardt also added points, taking home first place in the 500 Free.

"Congratulations to Lucy, Kaja and Hannah on earning their first-ever wins as Eagles," said Rollins. "It's something I'm sure they will always remember. It was especially exciting to see Kaja win, as she had never swam the 500-yard freestyle and she was extremely consistent."

Halmai and senior Elizabeth White also claimed a pair of first-place finishes in the opening events of the meet. Halmai won the 200 Fly, while White came out on top of the tightly-contested 100 Breast event.

Through the first seven events, the Eagles held an 89.5-40.5 point advantage over UNF and a 66-64 point edge over Campbell.

Down the stretch, FGCU continued to pick up victories that provided vital points to the team. Fry claimed the 100 Fly and classmate Elizabeth Zeiger earned a first-place finish in the 200 IM, followed by runner-up Hogan.

The Eagles swept the 200 Breast, as Halmai picked up her second individual win of the meet, while White and Hogan rounded out the top three. In the final event of the day, the team of freshman Hailey Jerew, Reinhardt, Sulenta and Fry finished second in the 200-yard freestyle relay.

Sulenta, Reinhardt, VanDress, Hogan and Jerew all made their FGCU debuts along with Claire McAtee, Julia Rodriguez, Jackie Greeves and Michaela Sizemore.

Up Next:
The team will be back in action tomorrow (Saturday, Oct. 5) to take on CCSA foes Campbell and Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Ga. at the Recreation Activity Center. The meet is set for a Noon start time.

FGCU VB @ UNF Recap

The FGCU volleyball team (13-3, 3-1 A-SUN) remained in good spirits in Jacksonville as they defeated UNF (6-11, 0-3 A-SUN) 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-22). With the win, the Eagles are now 23-6 against the Ospreys.

"It was a great road performance tonight, and it was really all kickstarted by the defense," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "Our team defense was outstanding in the first two sets, and we were really making UNF work on the offensive end to score points. The third set developed much differently and became about the attacking of both teams, but we stayed poised and made some great plays at the end of the set. We got another big night from Cortney and Dani on the offensive end and our passers were all really solid throughout."

"There are a lot of lessons we can take away from tonight," UNF head coach Kristen Wright said. "I think our nerves settled in sets two and three and we stuck to a game plan. FGCU is a good team and the lesson is that we have a young team and we are going to look like that someday soon. But, what a turn out tonight. We are so thankful for the fans who came out to support us. We're very grateful and the girls are eager to win in big matches in front of them, so stay with us."

The Eagles opened up a 7-1 lead early as senior Daniele Serrano produced a kill and two blocks. The lead stretched to eight a little later following a back row kill from Amanda Carroll.

FGCU eventually led 19-6 following an ace from junior Alayna Ryan and a double block from sophomore Tori Morris and junior Snowy Burnam. VanLiew tallied three of the Green and Blue's final seven points in the set via kills and finished with six in the frame.

UNF took its first lead at 6-5 in the second set, but VanLiew added another kill and sophomore Chelsey Lockey followed with one of her own for a 14-9 lead midway through. The Ospreys pulled within one at 16-15, but the Eagles went on a 6-1 run to take control. Serrano finished off the frame with a kill.

Despite many stoppages that produced a nearly 40 minute third set, FGCU persevered to finish the sweep. Back-to-back kills from Burnam and VanLiew gave FGCU an early 4-2 lead, although UNF fought back and took an 11-9 lead. Freshman Erin Shomaker, however, tacked on a kill to spur a 6-0 run and set up a back-and-forth finish.

UNF knotted the set at 20 apiece following a kill from senior Taryn Griffey, but Shomaker followed with another kill and a replay review confirmed a bad set from UNF. The Ospreys answered with a kill, but FGCU got back-to-back successful attacks from Shomaker and VanLiew. Burnam then closed the match with a kill from the left side.

VanLiew has now tallied double-digit kills in 14 straight and 15 of 16 overall this year. In A-SUN play, she is averaging 17 per contest overall, including 5.5 digs over the past two. Shomaker (9) and Serrano (6) combined to tack on 15 more kills, with Serrano producing at a .357 rate.

Lockey had 37 assists along with seven digs, while Dana Axner had a match-high 13 digs. In fact, she is now two digs shy of 900 in her career. Carroll and Burnam each added seven digs in addition to Lockey as six players tallied at least five.

Tori Morris had a match-high five block assists, while Burnam tallied three. Serrano, meanwhile, had a solo block along with her two block assists to tie Olivia Mesner's (62, 2011-14) program record for most solo swats in a career. Furthermore, she now has 415.0 total blocks in her three plus years on campus, which is seven shy of Campbell's Rachel Templin (422, 2003-06) for third most in A-SUN history. In addition, Serrano's six kills put her at 717 and is six shy of passing Jill Hopper (725, 2011-13) for eighth all-time.

Serrano and Carroll also each participated in their 114th career match, tying Mesner for seventh on the program's Division I era career list.

Notes:

Burnam's four kills put her at 535 in her career as she gained the lead over senior Giovanna Borgiotti (534 career kills). Burnam needs 38 to surpass Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 15th all-time.

Next Up:

FGCU concludes its weekend jaunt with a 6 p.m. matchup against Stetson on Saturday night.

FGCU VB @UNF; Stetson Preview

The FGCU volleyball team (12-3, 2-1 A-SUN) will continue conference play with a two-match jaunt up the state to battle North Florida (6-10, 0-2 A-SUN) on Friday at 7 p.m. and Stetson (2-10, 0-3 A-SUN) on Saturday at 6 p.m.

The Eagles have performed well against the two teams, with a 43-8 combined record all-time. Against North Florida, FGCU has won eight of the past 10 in the series, but the Ospreys have claimed two of the past three outings on their home court in five-set fashion (2016 and 2017). The Green and Blue are 21-2 against Stetson, having lost on the road just once (Oct. 29, 2011). FGCU has also won 11 straight in the series while dropping only seven sets during that stretch.

More recently, FGCU is coming off a pair of straight set wins over North Alabama and Lipscomb this past weekend in a historic weekend for junior Cortney VanLiew. The junior outside hitter became the fourth player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills in the win over Lipscomb. She joined redshirt senior Amanda Carroll (1,424, 2015-present), Brooke Youngquist Sweat (1,173, 2004-07) and Olivia Mesner (1,132, 2011-14) - thus making this year's team the first one in program history with two 1,000 kill producers.

VanLiew's 22 kills against Lipscomb on Sunday is the most in program history for a three-set match against an A-SUN opponent. She topped her own record of 20 that was set on Sept. 22 of last season. In fact, those are the only two 20-plus kill performances in a three-set conference match.

On Friday, VanLiew totaled 16 kills over 20 attempts with just one error in just two sets. Not only did her kill output match North Alabama's entire team combined, but her .750 attack percentage was the best in the program's Division I era (2007-present) among players with at least 20 attempts.

Meanwhile, sophomore Dana Axner continued her torrid start to the season as the sophomore libero tallied at least 15 digs in all three matches last week, including 24 over three sets against Liberty. She closed the week with 15 digs against both North Alabama and Lipscomb while averaging six per set for the week. Her output against Liberty represented the third most in a three-set A-SUN regular season match in program history.

Axner has now tallied at least 10 digs in eight straight and 14 of 15 this year. She's totaled 261 overall at an A-SUN-best rate of 5.12 per set and is now up to 885 in her career, which is 63 short of passing Gigi Meyer (947, 2011-14) for fifth-most in the program's Division I era.

Her play led to a third A-SUN defensive player of the week selection of the season, which gives her four in a career - the most in program history and just one shy of matching Jacksonville's Mayara Prestes for the most in ASUN history. It also signifies the seventh weekly award of the season for the FGCU volleyball team over the first month plus of the season, which is the most among any A-SUN school.

Sophomore Chelsey Lockey reached 1,000 career assists this past week and has totaled 569 this year. She has at least 20 in every match and ranks 14th nationally in assists per set with 11.16. An all-around performer, she has four double-doubles this year in assists and digs, led by a 41-assist, 14-dig performance against Kentucky on Sept. 13.

Senior Daniele Serrano continued to pad her program-record block totals as she now sits just two solo blocks shy of owning every career record. Also sitting fourth in A-SUN history in total blocks, Serrano is one solo block shy of Olivia Mesner (62, 2011-14) for the most in program history. She also needs 11 more total blocks to surpass Rachel Templin (422.0, Campbell, 2003-06) for the third-most in conference history. In addition, Serrano has 711 kills in her career (9th all-time) and is 15 shy of passing Jill Hopper for eighth all-time.

SCF VB Sets for Home Crossover Match vs Palm Beach State and IRS

The SCF volleyball team (2-14, 0-3 Suncoast) remain at home for the weekend and take a break from Suncoast Conference play as they welcome Palm Beach State (3-11, 0-3 Southern) Friday night, October 4 at 6 pm and Indian River State (10-6, 1-2 Southern) Saturday, October 5 at noon to Hal Chasey Gymnasium for another FCSAA Crossover Matchup.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees had their Suncoast home opener as they fell 3-0 to Florida Southwestern in their inaugural season and remain in last place in conference.

Sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom and freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai lead the Manatees offensively. Esseboom has 109 kills in her name along with 43 digs and 23 blocks, while Wilcox-Nanai has 97 kills and 120 digs. Against FSW, Esseboom had three kills, four digs and an ace while Wilcox-Nanai had seven kills, seven digs, an ace and three blocks.

Freshman Gracee Carpino leads with 367 assists and 18 aces. Carpino had 23 assists in her last match against FSW.

Defensively, sophomore Barbora Tichackova leads the team with 47 blocks (12 solo) and 20 aces while adding 51 kill, while classmate Sydney Jaco has 300 digs in her name along with 31 assists. Tichackova had five kills, two aces and two blocks against FSW, while Jaco had 16 digs and three assists.

Already setting the bar, Jaco currently has 1,068 digs in her career.

Three other players that have made a big name both offensively and defensively are sophomore Daviya "Day" Bernard and freshmen Lisa Jaunet and Brooke Henry.

Bernard is third on the team in kills (75) and tied for second with Jaunet in blocks (24, seven solo). Bernard had two kills and a solo block against FSW.

Jaunet has 64 kills (fourth on the team) and 24 blocks (seven solo). Against FSW, Jaunet had seven kills and two aces.

Henry has 115 digs in her name. Against FSW, Henry had five digs and a kill.

Scouting PBSC:
The Panthers enter their match against SCF on a nine-match losing streak and have not won a game since September 6 vs Pensacola State. The Panthers recently competed in Southern Conference play, losing 3-0 to Indian River and are in last in the Southern Conference.

Freshman Madison Barton leads the team with 104 kills and has 44 blocks (nine solo) while sophomore Aleksandra Hamuda follows with 91 kills and leads the team in aces (13). Sophomores Bella Magrino has 97 kills and is second on the team with 54 blocks (13 solo), while classmate Martha Torres has 70 kills.

Sophomore Sydney Asher has 495 assists and second in aces (10).

Defensively, Torres leads the team with 60 blocks (20 solo) while freshman Jazmine Sustaita takes over in the backrow with 175 digs.

The Manatees and Panthers met with each other in the Santa Fe/Campus USA Classic and the Daytona State Invitational with the Panthers winning 3-2 in a nail-biter of a match (8/24) at the Santa Fe/Campus USA Classic before the Manatees returned the favor and defeated PBSC with a 3-2 nail-biter of a win of their own at the Daytona State Invitational.

Overall, the Manatees are 8-4 against the Panthers (2012-present).

Scouting Indian River:
The Pioneers recently competed against Palm Beach State winning 3-0 in Southern Conference play. Currently, the Pioneers are in third place in the Southern Conference.

Offensively, freshman Tessa Raadsheer leads the team with 170 kills, 108 digs and 20 aces. In her match against PBSC, Raadsheer had 14 kills and eight digs.

Following Raadsheer is classmate Mallory Roney. Roney has 151 kills in her name. In her last match, Roney had 10 kills against PBSC.

Sophomore Erin Ergle has 257 assists in her name. Ergle had 32 assists against PBSC.

Defensively, freshman Kaitlyn Chavarria leads the team with 35 blocks (10 solo). Chavarria had  seven blocks (two solo) along with three kills. Freshman Jasmine Sayre has 195 digs and 11 aces. Sayre had 12 digs and two aces against PBSC.

The Manatees are tied 3-4 in the overall series as both team met in the Daytona State Invitational with the Manatees losing 3-1.

How to Keep Up:
Both matche will air on livestream on the SCF Sports Network. Fans can keep up to date with both teams on Twitter:
SCF: @SCFVolleyball
PBSC: @PBSCPanthers
IRS: @irscvb

Promos:
Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the weekend for both matches will be dubbed as a pink out. Fans and SCF Maniacs are encouraged to wear pink to both matches.

Livestream Link: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/scf/

FGCU WSOC vs Jacksonville Preview

The FGCU women's soccer team (6-3-1, 1-0-1 A-SUN) will be back in action at the Nest for a match against Jacksonville (0-8-3, 0-2-1 A-SUN) on Sunday, Oct. 6. The clash at the FGCU Soccer Complex is set for a 1 p.m. kickoff and fans are encouraged to participate in a white out. The match will be streamed on YouTube Live.

The Green and Blue:
With the first week of A-SUN play under their belt, the Eagles are currently tied with Lipscomb for third in the league standings. FGCU defeated North Alabama 3-1 on the road in its conference opener (Sept. 26) before the team earned a 1-1 draw at reigning champion Lipscomb (Sept. 29).

Freshman Louise Lillback was named A-SUN Player of the Week after having a hand in all three of the Eagles' goals in the victory over North Alabama. Lillback netted two of her own and assisted on senior Evdokia Popadinova's goal, marking the first multi-goal game of her career and the highest points any FGCU player has tallied in a single game so far this season.

Senior Marjorie Boilesen leads the team with 12 points and is tied with Popadinova with a team-high five goals. Popadinova is tied for 20th in the nation with three game-winning goals.

Sophomore Ashlee Brentlinger, redshirt-junior Megan Young and Lillback are tied for first in the league with three assists apiece. As a team, FGCU paces the conference in assists (19) and has allowed the second-lowest amount of goals (11).

Jacksonville at FGCU:
Sunday's match will be the 16th in the history between the two teams, which the Eagles lead 7-2-6. FGCU has not lost to Jacksonville since 2008 and the team defeated the Dolphins 6-0 in last season's meeting.

Scouting JU:
The Dolphins will travel to Fort Myers in search of their first conference win after dropping a pair of matches to Liberty (2-0) and Kennesaw State (1-0). Most recently, the team earned a 0-0 draw on the road at Stetson (Oct. 3).

Jacksonville has been outscored by its opponents 21-3 throughout its 11 games this season. Freshman Olivia Abdallah is credited with all three of the Dolphins' goals, while three different players account for the team's three assists. The team has not scored since a 1-1 draw on the road against the Citadel (Sept. 22).

Senior Kristian Shores has started seven matches between the pipes for Jacksonville and has allowed 11 goals. In the team's contest against Stetson, she matched her season-high with 10 saves en route to posting her second shutout of the season.

Livestats Link: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=267058

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWPlmFZxpc1KCiQx90Ei4hg/

Leilani's Volleyball Journey

On the SCF volleyball team, there are six freshman from all over the world that have a story to tell about how they got to their volleyball journey. The story I did for on one of the player was the most interesting yet heartfelt stories I ever did.

Leilani Wilcox-Nanai went through many obstacles to get to college and start her volleyball career. Wilcox-Nanai hails from Christchurch, New Zealand, the third biggest city in New Zealand, and played outside hitter at Christchurch Girls High School prior to SCF. Her journey to start her volleyball career came from her own backyard.

"My brother played volleyball in high school, but I never played because I didn't think I was very good at it," said Wilcox-Nanai. "During my junior year of high school, I tried out for the high school team, and for some strange reason I was actually good at it and I don't know how it happened. My father also played volleyball. We would play volleyball for church every Wednesday or Saturday night. When I got there, guys would hit the ball at me, which was helpful for my volleyball career. It made me quicker."

While in New Zealand, Wilcox-Nanai played club volleyball and was a member of the New Zealand Junior Women's Volleyball Team while also playing on club teams at the U19 Interprovincial Championship, the Canterbury School School Championships Tournament Team, and the Youth South Island New Zealand Team. She has also earned several academic awards (Distinction Award, Whannau Te Reo Award, School Leader Award, Mathematics Award, and Te Reo Maori Award) as well as being named MVP of the season for her club team.

"During club season, I had a coach who I trained with that told me to go to the US to see how I can do," said Wilcox-Nanai.

For Wilcox-Nanai and the trip to Florida, this was the second time that she has ever been to the United States. The first time that she went was in California where she had family there.

"It was an amazing experience living there for five weeks," said Wilcox-Nanai. "It was different, especially when I liked the food there."

Prior to SCF, Wilcox-Nanai decided to apply to junior colleges (NJCAA and CCCAA) from her coach's suggestion.

"My coach told me to apply at JUCO schools so I can get a better opportunity for a D1 school and I did have a few offers from schools in Texas, Wyoming and of course Florida," said Wilcox-Nanai. "I chose SCF because it was the nicest out of all the colleges. When I was FaceTiming Coach Byrd, I thought she was gonna be hard and I thought that she and the coaching staff could help me improve my skills."

Wilcox-Nanai is the first out of her whole family to go to college with an influence from her parents and her brother.

"It's different and I know everyone has different lives and different experiences," said Wilcox-Nanai on her college experience. Since I was the last child, all my older siblings made sure that I was okay, so I was very lucky for that."

"My parents wanted me to go more than I did and my brother was my biggest supporter," said Wilcox-Nanai on her brother's support. "He would train me and in the mornings we'd do our own training or whenever we had free time, he would always train me. When we train together, he would tell me things and even pay for our trips. He was a big part of why I'm here."

When Wilcox-Nanai arrived in Florida, she described her first experience as "stormy" from the weather she went through to get there.

"I loved it because I could go swimming in the water," said Wilcox-Nanai. "It was exciting because where I stayed, we had a pool that go out to and enjoy the water. Volleyball-wise, it was cool yet so different in America from New Zealand. We would train a lot in the US whereas in New Zealand, we didn't train much, but I like it."

While she continues to practice her game, Wilcox-Nanai does like to do things outside of volleyball, mainly just being out on the water.

"I just like being outside in the sun and watching the sunset," said Wilcox-Nanai. "But just like being on the water and going to the beach."

While she was getting use to meeting and greeting all of her new teammates, two of her teammates that gave her the most warm welcome was sophomore Barbora Tichackova and freshman Lisa Jaunet.

"Barbora is the nicest person on the whole team," said Wilcox-Nanai. "She was the one that picked me up from the airport along with Lisa (Jaunet) because I met them first. It was kind of hard for me in the beginning because I came in late due to issues with my visa, so I missed out on preseason and everyone had a few weeks of just hanging out with each other, so they would obviously were closer than when I was going to be."

As a result of her late arrival at SCF, Wilcox-Nanai was unable to play the first two matches of the season and practice for a while, but then was finally cleared to play in her first match against Santa Fe and produced eight kills and 13 digs.

"I was kind of nervous when coach Byrd started me," said Wilcox-Nanai on her first match. "I was so appreciative about playing in it. I wasn't even expecting to start straight away and it kind of freaked me out a bit. It was good though even batting through the nerves, but I've managed to battle through it."

Wilcox-Nanai does plan to go back to New Zealand after college and continue her studies while returning to play club volleyball, but through to the end, she has made sure to keep her journey flowing smoothly to the end.