KENNESAW, Ga. - Daniele Serrano produced 13 kills at a .462 clip to lead the top-seeded FGCU volleyball team (26-6) to a 25-20, 27-25, 22-25, 17-25, 15-12 win over No. 2 Kennesaw State (24-7) in the ASUN tournament championship match on Saturday. With the result, the Eagles will advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.

"This is a special night for our program and players," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "A lot of hard work has gone into this, and there is nothing more rewarding as a coach than seeing your team getting to celebrate a moment like that."

It was the first time FGCU has won a fifth set after dropping the third and fourth since Sept. 10, 2016 over Indiana. The Eagles are now 5-1 in program history in postseason five-set matches, including 3-1 in the Division-I era. It was the first conference championship match victory in four tries for the Green and Blue, who are now 10-8 all-time in the tournament.

Serrano (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS), who totaled 19 kills and 15 blocks (four solo), claimed tournament MVP honors. Cortney VanLiew, who had 29 kills, was named to the all-tournament team along with Dana Axner, who totaled 42 digs over two matches.

"Dani was outstanding in the big moment, but that is nothing new for her," Botsford said. "She is one of the most reliable players I have ever coached. She's been starting since she was a freshman. She's a rock, one of the most competitive kids you'll ever know. You just can't see it as much because (her emotions are) not as outward as some of our other players, but there's this inner drive for her. You can trust her in these big moments. She just did fantastic for us. I am happy that she was recognized as the MVP."

After Kennesaw State evened up the match, including a dominant fourth-set victory where they led by as many as 10, VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) opened the fifth with a kill and an ace. Snowy Burnam, who had 12 kills and 16 digs, followed with three kills over the next four points to give the Eagles a 5-1 lead. The Owls, who defeated FGCU in the championship last year, rallied to tie things twice, but Sharonda Pickering got a right-side kill to spur a 4-1 run to end it.
 
"We had to make a pretty big change going into that fifth set," Botsford said. "We didn't put any kind of service pressure on them in that fourth game. Our offense was passive. We knew the difference was going to be if we could still be aggressive in that fifth set when everything is on the line, and I thought our girls did an excellent job at that."
 
In the deciding set, VanLiew (4) and Burnam (3) combined for seven kills, while Maggie Rick had 10 assists. Axner (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS) had nine of her 27 digs in the set alone. The Eagles achieved a sideout on 10 of 13 (76 percent) opportunities, too.

"All I can use is the word excited," Serrano said. "I think it's fitting - excited. That's all I can think of right now. I'm so proud of my team. It was such a rollercoaster of emotion. There were times when I was just so frustrated. Obviously, giving up wasn't an option, but coach just told us not to get down on ourselves. I know what it's like when we work together, and I just couldn't let that slip. I was trying to keep everyone together. It was hard, but I think it showed in the fifth set that we really came together and showed out."
 
Offensively, the trio of VanLiew, Serrano and Burnam combined for 38 kills, while Pickering (Sea Cow's Bay, Tortola, British Virgin Islands/Elmore Stoutt HS) added nine at a .381 percentage. Rick (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity Catholic HS) had a team-high 34 assists, while Chelsey Lockey (Eaton, Colo./Eaton HS) added 18. Outside of Axner (27) and Burnam (16), VanLiew added 12 digs and four aces for her 12th double-double of the season. She has double-digit kills in 25 of 32 matches, and her ace total is tied for the third most in a match in the Division-I era.

FGCU, which entered the match with a conference-best RPI of 61, has now won 15 in a row, which is tied with the 2012 and 2016 teams for the longest in the Division-I era.

NOTES
Axner's 27 digs is tied for the eighth-most in a five-set match in the Division-I era. She became the program's single-season digs record holder with 578, surpassing Vanessa Benke's 558 in 2015. Whitney Hendry (606, 2005) holds the all-time record, set in the program's Division-II era. She also is 26 digs shy of moving into the top 10 on the career list in just 32 career matches.
 
FGCU recorded 14 total blocks in each of the tournament matches, and they've had at least that many six times this year, which has only happened 13 other times in the Division-I era.

VanLiew now has 445 kills this year, which is 10 shy of surpassing Amanda Carroll's 2017 total for second-most in the Division-I era. Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) holds the top spot with 485, which was set in 2016.

Serrano became the first player in program history to record at least 300 career block assists with Saturday's performance.

NCAA Tournament Selection Show and Info
The NCAA Division-I women's volleyball championship bracket will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 25 at 8:30 p.m. on ESPNU. The first and second rounds will be held at 16 non-predetermined campus sites Nov. 29 - Dec. 1. At each campus site, four teams will compete in a single-elimination format. The winner advances to regionals Dec. 7-8. The final four teams will compete Dec. 13 and 15 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

FOLLOW ALONG
For up-to-the minute information and a behind-the-scenes look at the FGCU volleyball program, follow us on Twitter at @FGCU_VB, on Facebook at /FGCUVolleyball and on Instagram at @FGCU_VB.
 
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 115-44 (.723) record overall, including a 57-15 (.792) record in ASUN play. Including this season, 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 four straight seasons and at least 10 wins in conference play five 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.

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 contribute, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help.

FOOD DRIVE
FGCU is collecting food donations at home events all during November to benefit FGCU Campus and Harry Chapin Food Banks. Donations can be dropped off at the marketing table in the Alico Arena lobby.

TOY DRIVE
The FGCU athletic and police departments, Lee County Sheriff's Office and Heroes Unlimited have teamed up to participate in a holiday toy drive. New, unwrapped toys are being collected and will be delivered to the Golisano Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida this holiday season. Collection boxes have been placed in the lobbies of Alico Arena, UPD and the FGCU Family Resource Center until Wednesday, Dec. 14. No toy is too small, and all toys will be wrapped prior to delivery.