NASHVILLE, Tenn. – FGCU volleyball's quest for its first NCAA Division I tournament berth fell short, as the Eagles fell 3-1 (22-25, 25-17, 23-25, 21-25) to Kennesaw State Friday (Nov. 20) in the Atlantic Sun Championships semifinal. The Eagles end the season 21-11 while Kennesaw State improved to 19-8 on the season.

"We played a brand of volleyball that was not conducive to winning a match like that," said head coach Matt Botsford. "There were a couple sets that came down to the end but at that point we were already playing pretty sloppy and lucky to even be in a position to pull those sets out. Our ball handling wasn't where it needed to be, our blocking numbers were below average and our attacking percentages were below our average and all those things played into the end result. We received valiant efforts from Amanda and Leigh offensively. They came out of the break hitting at very high percentages but we couldn't continue to lean on them. Kennesaw was able to isolate those hitters but those two still did a good job."

Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia High School) finished the evening with 22 kills to lead FGCU while also tallying 21 digs. Leigh Pudwill (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial High School/Northern Iowa) chipped in 13 kills. Lauren Tutwiler (Louisville, Ky./Assumption High School) and Eleonora Kazarian (Tibilisi, Georgia/College of Central Florida) paced the defensive efforts as both tallied four blocks while Tutwiler also recorded eight kills. Maggie Rick (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity Catholic High School) dished out 44 assists and Vanessa Benke (Toledo, Brazil/College of Central Florida) finished with 27 digs to lead the floor defense.

FGCU and Kennesaw State opened the match with a tightly contested 25-22 game that went in favor of the Owls. The Green and Blue bounced back, claiming the second stanza 25-17 to even the match heading into intermission. In the third set, FGCU and Kennesaw were tied at 23 only for KSU to claim the final two points, taking the third game 25-23. In the fourth, FGCU attempted a late rally but it fell short, with Kennesaw taking the fourth set 25-21.

FGCU jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead behind kills from Carroll and Kazarian. Kennesaw State however returned the favor, responding with a 4-0 run of its own to tie the set. The Eagles would later open a small advantage at 10-8 following a kill each from Pudwill and Kazarian but once again the Owls had a response, using a 5-0 run put the Green and Blue behind 16-13. Facing a 19-16 deficit late in the opening stanza, Tutwiler started a brief burst of momentum with a kill, which was followed by a Rick ace and a block from the Tutwiler and Kazarian to tie the set at 19. FGCU was unable to regain the lead however, as the Owls closed out a 25-22. FGCU hit .312 to open the match, aided by five kills from Carroll and four from Kazarian. Rick tallied 12 assists in the first set.

A 7-2 run in favor of the Green and Blue set the tone early as the Eagles attempted to tie the match. Tied at two, a pair of Carroll kills and an ace by Caroline Jordan (Orlando, Fla./William R Boone High School) gave FGCU an early spark. FGCU's lead grew to 9-4 on a kill from Pudwill and another kill from the junior extended the advantage to 12-6. After a Rick ace, the Owls cut into the lead with a 3-0 run, moving the score to 13-9, but the Green and Blue immediately came back with a 7-2 run behind attacks from Marlene Moeller (Lüdinghausen, Germany/Pascal Gymnasium), Carroll and Tutwiler as well as a block by Carroll. Leading 20-12, the Eagles closed out the set behind kills from Pudwill and Tutwiler, tying the match at one with a 25-17 set victory. Carroll posted seven kills to pace the Eagle offense, aided by 12 more Rick assists. FGCU outhit the Owls .286 to .179 as the Eagles tied up the match.

The third set was a back-and-forth affair throughout. With the match tied at nine, the Eagles used an attack error and a block from Kazarian and Tutwiler to gain an 11-9 lead. Kennesaw responded with a 3-0 run of its own when both sides would exchange successful attacks from that point. Trailing 21-20, Carroll and Moeller gave the Eagles a brief lead to force a timeout from Kennesaw State. After the break, Kennesaw regained the lead at 23-22 only for Carroll to tie things up at 23 on the next point. FGCU was unable to move back in front however, as Kennesaw State took the third set 25-23. In a very defensive third set, neither side hit above .100.

The Owls immediately put FGCU under pressure with a 6-2 run to start the fourth set, but the Eagles were up to the task, chipping away at the deficit with a 3-0 run behind a pair of Jordan aced and a Karissa Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior High School) kill. FGCU would tie the set at nine, using two Owl errors and a Carroll kill but could not take the lead. The Owls again put the Eagles under pressure with a 4-0 run causing the Eagles to use their second timeout. FGCU trailed 19-13 when Pudwill sparked the Green and Blue. Following an attack error, Tutwiler cut the deficit to 19-16 and an Owl error later decreased the gap to 21-19 but could not complete the comeback, falling 25-21.

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COACH BOTSFORD
 
Head coach Matt Botsford is in his second year at the helm of the FGCU volleyball program and his teams have combined for an overall 40-22 (.645) record, including a 21-7 (.750) mark in A-Sun play. In his inaugural season, the Eagles finished with a record of 19-11 with a second-place finish in the A-Sun. Botsford has also coached 10 All-Conference selections in just two seasons at FGCU. Prior to his time in Southwest Florida, Botsford held successful stints as an assistant at Notre Dame, Miami, IUPUI, 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.