Volleyball Hosts NCAA Tournament Watching Party on Sunday Night

FORT MYERS, Fla. – After claiming their second ASUN championship title, the FGCU volleyball team will host a watch party for the NCAA Tournament Selection Program Sunday night at Alico Arena. The show begins at 8:30 p.m. and will air live on ESPNU. The event is open to the public, with fans attending the men’s basketball game against Purdue Fort Wayne (6pm) invited to stay at Alico Arena to watch the show on the videoboard.

The Eagles, who won the ASUN Championship against Jacksonville State on November 20, will find out their spot in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on December 2-4. This is the second time in a row. In the history of the Division I program, FGCU won the ASUN Championship Tournament and earned a place in the NCAA Tournament.

FGCU last played in the NCAA Tournament in 2018, where the Eagles beat UCF No. 13 (3-2) to win their first NCAA Tournament.

The Eagles currently have an overall scoreline of 26-5, have a 15-1 record in the game at ASUN and are currently holding their best-ever RPI at 31st nationally. That record is marked by a 15-game winning streak, a 14-0 opener against ASUN to face the team in 2012 for the best league start, and a 14-0 record at Alico Arena. Of the 26 wins, only four required more than three sets.

Over the past six seasons, FGCU has 12^NS won the most shows in the country with 143 people behind only Washington (144) and Minnesota (145).

As a team this season, FGCU ranks in the top 30 of the NCAA in four statistical categories: opponent hit rate (4^NS, 0.127), blocks per set (13^NS, 2.69), hit rate (21^NS, 0.271) and the total number of blocks of the group (30^NS(269.5).

After the NCAA Tournament Selection Program, Check Out www.FGCUathletics.com for full details on the first round action including ticket information and how to follow.

For full coverage of the volleyball program, follow the Eagles on Twitter at @FGCU_VB, on Instagram at @FGCU_VB, on Facebook at / FGCUVol Football and online at FGCUathletics.com. You can also sign up to receive FGCU volleyball news 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 10 February 2014. During his tenure, Botsford-led teams formed Overall record 183-58 (0.782), including 96 -20 (.827) scored in ASUN play. Including the unprecedented Spring Split this past year, he has taken the program to heights not seen in the Division-I era (2007 to present) – scoring at least 20 wins overall in six over the past seven seasons and at least 10 conference wins each season. In 2018, he led the show to its first regular-season championship since 2012 (fourth place overall) and its first ASUN tournament title, NCAA appearance, winning the tournament. NCAA match and win against a ranked team. His first two campaigns resulted in ASUN’s Regular Season Runner-up, and the next two saw Eagles move towards the league championship and now the team has won three titles. consecutive regular season titles, including an ASUN championship and runner-up finish in spring 2021. On September 10, 2016, Botsford led his team to a five-set win over Indiana at Alico Arena, marking the show’s first win over a team from the Power-5 conference. In 2018, he led the team to a win over Miami (Fla.) – the first Power 5 show win on the road and followed by the Eagles with a straight win over the Hurricanes at a neutral venue on 2019.

#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), organizations from selected by FGCU Athletics. For more information, including how to contribute, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and use the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an astonishing 85 league and regular league championships in just over 14 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of post-season DI qualifying , the Eagles have had a total of 42 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned the top 25 national rankings in their respective sports – including women’s basketball (21st, 2020-21), beach volleyball (20th, 2021) and both men’s soccer (2018, 2019) and women’s soccer (2018) are three of the most recent. In 2016-17, Green and Blue finished in the series’ best sixth place in the DI-AAA Learfield Director’s Cup and the top 100 was screened nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS organizations. In 2018-19, the Eagles had one ASUN and seven of Florida’s best teams winning the NCAA’s Recognition Award for Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also achieved a record GPA of 3.50 in the classroom during the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University student population for 24 consecutive semesters. Each of the Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters saw another major milestone achieved as all 15 programs achieved a group GPA of 3.0 or higher in each. semester. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – recognized as one of two runners-up for the first ever NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.

–FGCUATHLETICS.COM–