FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU volleyball team (11-6, 4-1 ASUN) got several big performances and mounted a late rally, but suffered a 25-20, 27-25, 16-25, 26-24 loss to Kennesaw State (14-4, 5-0) in Alico Arena on Friday.

"We have to rely on our serving and blocking, and we did that tonight to put ourselves in position to come back from some pretty big deficits, but you're playing with fire if you think you're going to constantly be able to play out of holes like that," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "While I can appreciate the effort and the execution with the serving and the blocking that put us in that spot, especially in that fourth set, we need to handle the first contact and attack a little more decisively."

With the victory, Kennesaw State remains in a tie for first place with Lipscomb, who defeated Liberty in five sets in another battle of undefeated ASUN teams on Friday. The Eagles will square off against Lipscomb on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Alico Arena.

Cortney VanLiew paced the FGCU offense with 16 kills while adding 19 digs and one block assist. She now has at least nine digs in the past 11 matches, including 10 or more in nine of those. In fact, the sophomore recorded her third consecutive double-double, the seventh of the season and 13th of her career.

Outside of VanLiew, Sharonda Pickering added nine kills, while Giovanna Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS), Daniele Serrano and Snowy Burnam each added six. Pickering (Sea Cow's Bay, Tortola, British Virgin Islands/Elmore Stoutt HS) led the way with a .318 hitting percentage while finishing second on the team in block assists with five.

Dana Axner (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS), meanwhile, also had 19 digs to tie VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) for the team-high. She also added two assists while recording her fifth straight match with at least 10 digs. She has at least eight digs in every match and 10 or more in 14 of 17 so far during her freshman campaign.

Maggie Rick (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity Catholic HS) led the team with 34 assists while adding 13 digs, three block assists and an ace. It was her third highest assist total and the sixth double-double of her season. Her dig total was one shy of matching her season-high set against West Virginia on Sept. 8. She also eclipsed 4,100 career assists and sits 304 shy of moving past Gigi Meyer (4,408, 2011-14) for the program's all-time record.

At the net, Serrano (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS) tallied eight block assists and a solo block while adding two digs and six kills. Her block assist total was two shy of matching the program's Division-I era record and is tied for the eighth-most. It was the fifth time in her career she recorded at least nine total blocks.

Other contributors included: Chelsey Lockey (Eaton, Colo./Eaton HS) with nine assists and five digs, Karissa Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS) with 12 digs and two aces and Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) with six digs and four block assists.

As a team, FGCU's 24 block assists tied the season-high set against NJIT on Sept. 28. The 14 total blocks is a new season-high, however.

Kennesaw State, who knocked off FGCU in last year's ASUN championship match, scored the first five points of the opening set, led by as many as nine and took the early lead despite the Eagles winning six of the final eight points.

In the second set, neither team led by more than two until Kennesaw State reeled off five straight to take a 20-15 lead. Pickering, however, capped a 5-0 rally for the Eagles with a kill and a solo block to even things up. After fighting off two set points, including one via a kill from VanLiew, the Owls took a two-set lead.

With things knotted at 10 apiece in the third set, VanLiew and Burnam produced kills in a 4-0 spurt. The rally continued until the Green and Blue opened up a 20-12 lead following a double-block from Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS) and Serrano. FGCU then closed the set with four straight to stay alive.

The fourth set provided even more drama. Kennesaw State scored six of the first seven, led 14-6 and look to be in firm control with a 22-14 lead. However, FGCU went on a 9-0 run, highlighted by kills from four different players. Down a point, the Owls produced two straight to set up match point. An attack error evened things back up, but Kennesaw State ended things with two straight.
 
UPDATED ASUN STANDINGS
1. Kennesaw State – 14-4 (5-0)
1. Lipscomb – 10-7 (5-0)
3. FGCU – 11-6 (4-1)
3. Liberty – 7-11 (4-1)
5. Stetson – 11-6 (3-2)
6. Jacksonville – 2-15 (1-4)
7. North Florida – 6-16 (1-5)
8. North Alabama – 2-12 (0-5)
8. NJIT – 2-17 (0-5)
 
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COACH BOTSFORD
Matt Botsford is in his fifth season as head coach of the FGCU women's volleyball program in 2018 after being hired on Feb. 10, 2014. In his four plus seasons, Botsford-led teams have compiled a 100-44 (.694) record overall, including a 46-15 (.754) record in ASUN play. He has taken the program to heights it has not seen in the Division-I era (2007-present) – registering at least 20 wins overall in three straight seasons and at least 10 wins in conference play four straight seasons. Furthermore, the team's offensive efficiency has drastically improved since Botsford started. In his first two seasons, his squad produced hitting percentages of .212 and .220. The past two, which have seen .267 and .256 percentages, are the third and fourth highest in program history. All four seasons under Botsford have seen a top-3 ASUN regular season finish and at least an ASUN semifinal appearance. His first two campaigns resulted in regular season runner-up finishes, and the past two have seen the Eagles advance to the tournament championship. On Sept. 10, 2016, Botsford led his team to a five-set win over Indiana in Alico Arena, which signified the program's first-ever win over a team from a Power-5 conference.
 
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