KENNESAW, Ga. – Sparked by a strong first-set comeback, the FGCU volleyball team won its fifth match in eight days with a 3-1 defeat of Kennesaw State Saturday evening at the KSU Convocation Center. The match saw three extra-point sets as the team won the first two sets, 29-27 and 25-17 before falling in the third set, 26-24. The Eagles rallied for a 28-26 win in set four to take the match victory. With the win, the Green and Blue move to 11-7 on the season and 5-0 in Atlantic Sun Conference play, while the Owls fall to 8-11 and 2-2 in league action.
Senior Olivia Mesner once again led the Eagles offense with 18 kills on the night, while junior Eleonora Kazarian, senior Jessica Barnes and freshman Mackenzie Allen added 15, 12 and 11, respectively. As a unit, the team produced an attack percentage of .228, while holding the Owls to a success rate of .171. The team outperformed KSU with 62 kills, 60 assists and 69 digs but was bested at the net with a 16-8 disadvantage in blocks.
Senior Gigi Meyer distributed the ball well with 56 assists on the night, while classmate Whitney Masters set up the defense with a team-high 23 digs. Allen produced her third double-double of the season with 16 digs added to her offensive production.
"I thought that in set one our bench was the difference," said head coach Matt Botsford of the team's second win of the weekend. "Marlene [Moeller], Shelby [Joslin] and Sydney [Ferguson] came in and provided a much needed spark. Whitney [Masters] and Courtney [Stephens] were very stable at the end of each set with our passing which allowed us to get some quality 'in-system' swings. Our floor defense also came up with some great plans to keep us in that last set when we fell behind. Overall, I'm happy with our performance this weekend and excited to keep the season going."
The Eagles fell behind early in the first set as the Owls started strong and took a 9-2 lead out of the gates. Although the team cut the deficit briefly, the home team extended its lead to 17-7 with a string of four kills and several FGCU errors.
KSU maintained a 10-point lead through 20-10 before the Eagles sparked a strong comeback. With a 14-4 run, the Green and Blue chipped away at the deficit and tied the set at 24 to stave off a set loss. The run included a slew of KSU errors and kills from Meyer, Kazarian and Allen.
With the set tied at 24, the teams traded points to tie at each point through 27 before two-straight KSU errors pushed the Eagles ahead to a 29-27 victory.
The teams again traded points and tied at 4-4 to start the second set. The Eagles used consecutive kills from Mesner, Kazarian and Barnes to take a 7-4 lead and never relinquished the advantage. The team held onto the momentum and used kills from Allen and Mesner to increase the lead to 17-11. FGCU ultimately moved ahead 2-0 in the match with a 25-17 win.
The Owls responded after the break to challenge the Eagles in the third set. The set saw six tie scores and four lead changes before the teams again saw ties at 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24 points. With the bout knotted at 24, the Owls used two quick kills to bring the score to 26-24 and stay alive in the match.
The fourth set again saw several lead changes as the teams battled for the point advantage to open the stanza. The Owls took the lead at 10-5 but the Eagles responded with five-straight points to cut the deficit to just three points before evening the set at 12-12.
The Owls pulled ahead again and went up 23-18 before the Eagles sparked another come-from behind rally. The Green and Blue converted six-straight points to tie the set at 23 and challenged the home team in the remaining points. The teams tied at the 23, 24, 25 and 26 point marks before KSU committed two-straight attack errors to give the Eagles the 28-26 victory and hand the visiting team its sixth-straight victory.
FGCU breaks from Atlantic Sun action with another midweek tilt on Oct. 14. The Eagles welcome Florida A&M to Alico Arena for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Rattlers. The Green and Blue previously defeated FAMU 3-0 in the 2014 season opener.
For up-to-the minute information and a behind-the-scenes look at the FGCU volleyball program, follow on Twitter at @FGCU_VB, on Facebook at /FGCUVolleyball and on Instagram at @FGCU_VB.
Head coach Matt Botsford is in his first year at the helm of the FGCU volleyball program. Prior to his time in Southwest Florida, Botsford held successful stints as an assistant at Notre Dame, Miami, IUIPI, Indianapolis and most recently Colorado State. Botsford is a former professional volleyball player and is a 1998 graduate of Tri-State University, where he earned a degree in Social Studies Education. He earned a master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Indianapolis.
