KENNESAW, Ga. - The FGCU volleyball team (22-6, 13-1 ASUN) went on the road and knocked off Kennesaw State (21-6, 12-2) 23-25, 25-22, 28-26, 25-22 on Sunday afternoon to win its 11th straight match and move into sole possession of first place in the conference standings with two remaining.

"That was an exciting match with a lot of back-and-forth between two very good teams," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "I thought our players did a great job staying calm in end-game situations, and our blocking was very timely in those moments. Kaiti was a huge boost off the bench in the third set, and we had big contributions from Gio, who I thought played fantastic."

The current winning streak is one shy of matching the 2008 team's fourth-longest streak in the Division-I era:

2016 - 15 straight
2012 - 15 straight
2007 - 14 straight
2008 - 12 straight
2018 - 11 straight

The outcome, which was FGCU's first road win over Kennesaw State since 2014, allowed the Eagles to clinch at least a quarterfinal round bye in the ASUN Championship and secure a tiebreaker over Kennesaw State should the two teams tie for the regular season crown. Should they get the top seed, they would push Kennesaw State and Lipscomb to the other side of the tournament bracket. The Green and Blue can clinch a share of the program's first regular season conference championship since 2012 with a win over Stetson on the road Tuesday.

Updated ASUN Standings
1. FGCU - 22-6, 13-1
2. Kennesaw State - 21-6, 12-2
3. Lipscomb - 16-10, 11-3
4. Liberty - 13-15, 9-5
5. Stetson - 16-10, 8-6
6. North Florida - 9-21, 4-10
7. Jacksonville - 5-22, 3-11
8. NJIT - 4-26, 2-12
9. North Alabama - 3-20, 1-13

Sunday's Results
Stetson 3, NJIT 0
FGCU 3, Kennesaw State 1
Lipscomb 3, Liberty 1
North Alabama 3, Jacksonville 0

In the fourth and deciding set, FGCU scored the final five points after seeing a 19-17 advantage turn into a two-point deficit. Snowy Burnam started the rally with back-to-back kills and then teamed with Kaitlan Krivdo for the go-ahead tandem block. Back-to-back attack errors from Kennesaw State then set off the celebration.

Those attack errors were a fitting cap to a defensive effort from the Eagles all match as they forced Kennesaw State into 31 errors, which is tied for the second-worst performance of the season from the Owls. The Green and Blue compiled 14 total blocks, which matched their total from this season's first matchup between the two teams and is tied for the fifth-most in a match in the program's Division-I era.

Furthermore, the best blocking team in program history compiled 24 block assists for the second time this year against Kennesaw State, which is tied for the sixth most in a match in the program's Division-I era. This year's team has five of the top 11 totals in that category and already has the most block assists (452), total blocks (277.0) and blocks per set (2.89) in a season in the Division-I era.

Cortney VanLiew paced the FGCU offense with 18 kills, five digs, two block assists and one assist. It was her third consecutive match with at least 15, and she's had double-digits in 22 of 28 matches this year. In fact, she sits just two kills shy of becoming the sixth player in the program's Division-I era with at least 700 in a career, and with 10 more kills, she'll become the fifth player in the era with 400 kills in one season, joining Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS), Eleonora Kazarian, Ana Kokanovic and Jelena Simic.

Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) and Daniele Serrano each added 13 kills, while hitting .440 and .370, respectively. Giovanna Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS) also came through big with six kills over 12 attempts while hitting .417. As a team, the Green and Blue hit .317 compared to .221 for Kennesaw State.

Burnam chipped in 11 digs, two block assists and one assist for her second straight and fourth double-double of the season. She has 10 or more digs in four straight and seven of the past 10, while notching double-figure kills in two straight and seven of the past nine.

The duo of Maggie Rick (33) and Chelsey Lockey (17) combined for 50 assists, while Dana Axner added three. Rick had the team's lone ace, while nine different players had at least one block assist, led by seven from Serrano (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS), five from Sharonda Pickering and three from Krivdo (Hope Mills, N.C./Gray's Creek HS).

The Eagles came from behind to win the match despite a heartbreaking loss in the opening set. Kills from Serrano and VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) spurred a 6-0 run that resulted in a 19-13 lead, but it evaporated as Kennesaw State scored seven of the final eight points in the set, including five straight to close it.

After handing FGCU a tough loss, Kennesaw State jumped out to a 10-7 lead in the second frame. Serrano, though, started a 7-0 run with a kill and a block assist. Moments later, she added another kill to give her team a 17-11 lead. Despite back-to-back points from the Owls late in the set, the Eagles evened up the match behind a tandem block from Serrano and Pickering (Sea Cow's Bay, Tortola, British Virgin Islands/Elmore Stoutt HS).

The runs didn't stop in the third set as FGCU used a pair of 3-0 spurts to open up an 18-14 lead. Kennesaw State answered with six straight and eventually led 24-22. A service error, however, allowed FGCU to gain some momentum. Krivdo and Rick teamed up for back-to-back blocks to give the Eagles their first set point.

Kennesaw State responded by rejecting two set points, but with both teams out of subs, FGCU got a kill from VanLiew and a tandem block from Serrano and Lockey (Eaton, Colo./Eaton HS) for a 28-26 win.
 
With her team-high 33 assists, Rick (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity Catholic HS) has 4,382 in her career and sits just 27 shy of surpassing Gigi Meyer's program record (4,408, 2011-14). Her 12 digs give her nine double-doubles on the season and 19 in her career.

Additionally, Rick has competed in 125 matches, just two shy of becoming the program's all-time leader. She is on pace to break it in the team's regular season finale at home against Liberty on Nov. 10.

Axner (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS) tied for the match-high in digs with 26, which ties her for the sixth-most in a four-set match in the Division-I era. She now has 487 this season and is 13 shy of becoming the third player in the same era with 500 or more, joining Vanessa Benke (558, 2015) and Whitney Masters (519, 2014 and 512, 2013). Her rookie year total has also already put her 13th on the career list as she has double figures in 16 straight and 25 of 28 overall.

Serrano, meanwhile, now owns the program's all-time career block assists record with 284, surpassing Olivia Mesner's 280 from 2011-14. The junior middle blocker previously broke the single-season block assists and total block records and sits just 12 shy of breaking Mesner's career record for total blocks. Sunday represented her 12th match this year with at least five block assists.

Other contributors in the win included Tori Morris (Virginia Beach, Va./Floyd E. Kellam HS), who had two kills over three attempts along with one block assist and one dig, and Karissa Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS), who had one assist and one dig.

NOTES
FGCU owns the tiebreaker against Kennesaw State should they tie for the regular season crown. The teams split the first two tiebreakers, head-to-head record and sets won head-to-head, but the Eagles won more points head-to-head.

The Green and Blue is looking to secure at least a share of the program's fourth ASUN championship on Tuesday at Stetson. The previous titles occurred in 2007, 2008 and 2012.

FGCU is now 14-10 all-time against Kennesaw State, who had a four-match winning streak against the Eagles snapped.

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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 111-44 (.716) record overall, including a 55-15 (.786) 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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