FORT MYERS, Fla. – Aja Jones (Venice, Fla./Venice HS) had 13 kills and eight blocks, while Erin Shomaker (Granville, Ohio/Granville HS) posted a double-double with 15 kills and 11 digs to lead the FGCU volleyball team to a 3-1 win over rival North Florida on Friday night in Alico Arena. The Eagles improved to 20-4 overall and 12-0 in ASUN play, while the Ospreys fell to 20-4 overall and 9-3 in league action.
The victory clinched a spot in the upcoming ASUN Championship Tournament, which will be host at Alico Arena, for the Green and Blue while also extending its current win streak to 13 matches. The Eagles also improved to 9-0 in home matches. The 20 wins on the year marked the sixth time in the last seven years that FGCU reached at least 20 wins for a season (although the Spring 2021 campaign only saw a total of 17 matches played).
"There were a lot of positives to take away from this match, but the most important is that we got an important win against a very good UNF team. I thought our block and defense was tremendous all night and set the tone along with our service pressure," said head coach Matt Botsford. "Another key element of the way things unfolded was the play of Aja Jones. She has put together an unbelievable stretch over the past few weeks and that continued tonight. She and Chelsey are finding a nice groove offensively and her impact on our blocking just keeps growing."
Shomaker's double-double marked the fourth of the season for the reigning ASUN Player of the Year. The junior committed just three hitting errors in the match while also adding a service ace and three blocks. Jones was stellar with a .478 hitting percentage while her eight blocks tied her season-high previously set against Georgia (and one shy of her career-best total from 2020).
Chelsey Lockey (Eaton, Colo./Eaton HS) had 48 assists for her third consecutive match with 40-or-more, while adding a kill, three service aces, seven blocks and seven assists. Skylar English (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) was one kill shy of a double-double with nine on the night alongside 11 digs.
North Florida was led by 11 kills by Dariana Hollingsworth-Santana and 10 from Bre Walp. Rocio Moro had 24 digs, while Gabby O'Connell added 13 more.
The Eagles opened the first two sets with a flurry of offensive firepower hitting .423 in the first set and .316 in the second set. Defensively, FGCU was able to hold the Ospreys to .167 hitting in the opener and -0.423 in the second with just two kills and 13 errors. For the match, FGCU held a 13-to-8 edge in aces and a 13-to-5 advantage in blocks. The 13 aces were tied as the second most for a four-set match in program history.
The Ospreys won a nip-and-tuck third set despite the Eagles pulling within one, 24-23, late after a pair of UNF errors.
The fourth set saw UNF use a late 10-to-1 run to overcome a 10-point deficit and cutting FGCU's lead to 23-22. After a Lauren Clark (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park HS/Penn State) kill gave put FGCU on the cusp of ending the match, the Ospreys picked up three consecutive points taking a 25-24 lead. The Eagles then scored twice to go back up 26-25 before the teams traded the four points. The decisive match-winning point came on a bad set by UNF to close out the evening.
"Lauren came in tonight during some tough spots and performed extremely well. I'm proud of the way she stayed aggressive and took big swings when the game was on the line," said Botsford.
FGCU will return to action tomorrow night when Jacksonville visits Alico Arena. The Eagles are looking to extend their fifth-longest win streak in the nation while continuing to close the gap on matching their best ever start to ASUN play (14-0, 2012).
Most Career Kills
| 1. | 1,576 | Cortney VanLiew (.225) | 2017-present |
| 2. | 1,483 | Amanda Carroll (.259) | 2015-19 |
| 3. | 1,173 | Brooke Youngquist Sweat (.245) | 2004-07 |
| 4. | 1,132 | Olivia Mesner (.331) | 2011-14 |
| 5. | 961 | Jessica Barnes (.194) | 2010-14 |
Most Career Digs
| 1. | 1,965 | Whitney Hendry (390 sets) | 2004-07 |
| 2. | 1,834 | Dana Axner (361 sets) | 2018-present |
| 3. | 1,687 | Whitney Masters (483 sets) | 2011-14 |
| 4. | 1,652 | Holly Youngquist (418 sets) | 2008-11 |
| 5. | 1,369 | Brook Youngquist Sweat (346 sets) | 2004-07 |
Most Career Assists
| 1. | 4,540 | Maggie Rick (467 sets) | 2015-18 |
| 2. | 4,408 | Gigi Myer (474 sets) | 2011-14 |
| 3. | 3,176 | Chelsey Lockey (344 sets) | 2018-present |
| 4. | 3,108 | Chandra Lefever (309 sets) | 2006-09 |
| 5. | 1,809 | Laura Monovill (186 sets) | 2004-05 |
For complete coverage of the volleyball program, follow the Eagles on Twitter at @FGCU_VB, on Instagram at @FGCU_VB, on Facebook at /FGCUVolleyball and online at FGCUathletics.com. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU volleyball or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
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COACH BOTSFORD
Matt Botsford is in his eighth season as head coach of the FGCU women's volleyball program in 2021 after being hired on Feb. 10, 2014. In his tenure, Botsford-led teams have compiled a 176-56 (.759) record overall, including a 92-19 (.828) record in ASUN play. Including this past year's unprecedented spring season, he has taken the program to heights it has not seen in the Division-I era (2007-present) – registering at least 20 wins overall in six of the past seven seasons and at least 10 wins in conference play every season. In 2018, he led the program to its first regular season championship since 2012 (fourth overall) and its first-ever ASUN tournament title, NCAA tournament appearance, NCAA tournament win and victory over a ranked team. His first two campaigns resulted in ASUN regular season runner-up finishes, and the following two saw the Eagles advance to the tournament championship and now the team has won three straight regular season titles, including a division title and ASUN tournament runner-up finish in the spring 2021 season. On Sept. 10, 2016, Botsford led his team to a five-set win over Indiana in Alico Arena, which signified the program's first-ever win over a team from a Power-5 conference. In 2018, he led the team to a win over Miami (Fla.) - the program's first-ever road Power 5 win, and the Eagles followed that up with a straight-set win over the Hurricanes at a neutral site in 2019.
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (https://ift.tt/1E0CJiI), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 85 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 42 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 21, 2020-21), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 24 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, 2020 Fall, and 2021 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA in each. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 - being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
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