![]() ![]() In addition to losing Burnam as a teammate, it goes a little deeper than that for Vanliew since they both arrived the same year. I'm looking forward to seeing how those young players manage that." "That's going to be happening here because of Snowy being out. "We knew we had a talented player, but it wasn't until Amanda Carroll got injured that we realized just how special she was when her role was elevated," Botsford said. That gave Vanliew, then a sophomore, more playing time and a bigger role. Amanda Carroll was already one of the top players in school history when she suffered an injury and ultimately redshirted after five matches in 2018. He doesn't have to look far for an example of at least the possibility that gives other players. Sophomore Erin Shomaker also was named preseason all-conference.īut Snowy Burnam, a senior who was second-team all-conference last season, tore an ACL and will miss the spring.Īs with trying to find the positive in the existence of any semblance of a season, Botsford is taking the same approach to replacing Burnam, who is 10th in kills in school history. Vanliew was named the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year, Axner as the Defensive Player of the Year, and Lockey as the Setter of the Year. More: FGCU notes: Barron's English, Hamilton headed to volleyball softball releases scheduleįGCU is loaded, albeit missing one key piece. More: Cortney VanLiew leads loaded FGCU volleyball team into 2019 season More: ASUN makes no decision on further delay of fall sports seasons due to COVID-19 "We have a little bit more fire because we finally get to have this thing that we've been missing for so long." We learned maybe we took the sport for granted a little bit too much and we saw just how much it affected us when we didn't have that sport, and I think we'll take that into the games and the practices that we get to have. I think ultimately it will end up being a good thing. "That was something that none of us had ever experienced in most of our lives. "At first it was really hard not being able to play," she said. Vanliew and her teammates are simply ready to play a match after so long. "I think the consensus would be - even though we wish there'd be better circumstances, we're happy that we're going to get an opportunity to compete." "Saying it's challenging is probably an understatement, but it's also a reality that we were able to wrap our heads around fairly early when we kind of took a look at the bigger, global picture," said FGCU coach Matt Botsford, who's won the last two ASUN Coach of the Year awards and led the Eagles to 103 victories in the past five seasons, tied with Kentucky for 11th nationally in that span. But the Eagles' hopes to play again will be granted Friday and Saturday when they start an abbreviated spring season at USF in Tampa, a mere 14 months since their last match. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic canceled the fall season. Little did they know how long they would have to do just that. With top players such as Cortney VanLiew, Dana Axner and Chelsey Lockey returning from that 27-5 team that won its second straight ASUN regular-season title, they couldn't wait for the 2020 season. The Eagles were one set from their second straight NCAA berth, after reaching the second round a year earlier. The top-seeded FGCU volleyball team is upset by Kennesaw State, 3-2, in the championship match of the ASUN tournament. ![]() ![]() Watch Video: Watch: VanLiew leads loaded FGCU volleyball team into 2019 ![]()
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