KENNESAW, Ga. – The FGCU volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (25-19, 13-25, 22-25, 26-28) decision to Kennesaw State Saturday (Nov. 7). The Eagles remain in second place in the Atlantic Sun with a 9-3 mark and a 20-9 record overall. The Owls closed the gap to FGCU, improving to 16-7 in 2015 and 8-4 in conference play.

Leigh Pudwill (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial High School/Northern Iowa) and Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia High School) paced the Eagled offensively. Pudwill ended the night with 16 kills while Carroll finished with 13 kills along with 20 digs. Maggie Rick (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity Catholic High School) recorded 37 assists in the match. Lauren Tutwiler's (Louisville, Ky./Assumption High School) five blocks led the Eagle defense while Vanessa Benke (Toledo, Brazil/College of Central Florida) posted a team-best 22 digs for the floor defense. Tutwiler also tallied six kills for the Eagles offensively.  

"Leigh [Pudwill] had another really big game for us and she seems to have found a nice rhythm these past two weeks," said head coach Matt Botsford. "Tonight our problem stemmed from the inability to find consistent offense from other points along the net. We were forced to be a little too predictable and as a match wears against a team as good as Kennesaw that typically can only carry you so far."

FGCU got the match started with a 25-16 first set victory only for the Owls to come back to take the second set 25-13. FGCU and Kennesaw were locked in a tight third game as the Owls edged out the Eagles 25-22 in the set. Needing a win in the fourth set, the Green and Blue jumped out to an early lead but could not hold off the Owls late, falling 28-26 in the fourth game and dropping the match 3-1.

Mackenzie Allen (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast High School) and Carroll got the Eagle offense rolling early, guiding FGCU to an early 9-3 advantage. The Owls were quick to respond though, cutting the lead to 11-10 before taking before tying the set at 13 and again at 14. The Green and Blue looked to Pudwill to pick up the offense and the junior did just that, recording a pair of kills in quick succession to spark a 6-1 run for the visitors that included a Caroline Jordan (Orlando, Fla./William R Boone High School) ace. Leading 20-15, the Green and Blue received kills from Pudwill and Carroll in addition to three Owl errors to take the first set 25-19. Pudwill paced the Eagles offensively with five kills, while Carroll and Allen each recorded three of their own. Carroll also posted nine digs in the opening stanza to lead the Green and Blue defensively.

An 8-2 run by Kennesaw State with the second set tied at three forced FGCU to call timeout trailing 11-5. Immediately following the timeout, two Owl errors brought the Eagles to within 11-7, but that's as close as the visitors would get in the set. Kennesaw State forced the second FGCU timeout at 18-8 and would go on to win the set 25-12.

In a tightly contested third set, FGCU took a 2-0 lead and a 4-2 lead out of the break with both offensive and defensive contributions from Tutwiler. Kaitlan Krivdo (Hope Mills, N.C./Grays Creek High School) also got in on the action early, joining Tutwiler in a block to get FGCU off to a positive start. Kennesaw State would create the largest gap of the set with a 7-4 lead, but FGCU chipped away with kills from Carroll and Pudwill to tie the set at nine. It was a struggle for either side to create any separation, with a total of 11 ties in the game. The Owls later went up 23-20 until Tutwiler recorded her fifth kill of the set and then went up with Krivdo once again in a block to pull the visitors to within 23-22. The late rally was not enough for the Eagles as the Owls won the third set 25-22. Tutwiler's five kills in the third game led the way for FGCU. As a team, the Green and Blue outhit KSU .229 to .186.

FGCU immediately made its mark on the fourth set but could not withstand a furious rally from the host Owls late in the game. A 9-1 run set up by four Owl errors and kills from Carroll and Pudwill put the Green and Blue in a commanding position early. Jordan recorded her second ace of the match to push the lead to 12-2 and following a brief 3-0 run by Kennesaw State, Carroll and Pudwill limited any further damage with a kill each. Rick and Carrol tallied kills to push the lead to 17-8 only for the home side to pull within 18-14 behind a 6-1 run. FGCU saw its lead shrink to 22-21, but Carroll regained the two-point lead at 23-21. It was Carroll again moments later that gave the Eagles set point, but Kennesaw completed the rally, took a 25-24 lead and won the set 28-26.

UP NEXT

The Eagles have two contests remaining in the 2015 regular season. FGCU plays host to Lipscomb Friday (Nov. 13) in a blueout inside Alico Arena. Then Saturday, the Eagles conclude the regular season with Senior Night against conference newcomers, NJIT.

FOLLOW ALONG
 
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.
 
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 39-20 (.661) record, including a 20-6 (.769) 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's team also had five players recognized as All-Conference honorees, to set a new program high. 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.
 
SUPPORT THE CAUSE
 
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), 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.