KENNESAW, Ga. - The FGCU volleyball team (24-4, 12-2 ASUN) dropped a heartbreaker in four sets (28-30, 30-28, 25-21, 25-21) to Kennesaw State (17-8, 10-3) on the road Friday in KSU's Convocation Center. The loss snaps a 14-match winning streak for the Eagles.
 
"This was obviously a disappointing result as we would have liked to perform at a higher level, but much of that had to do with KSU doing a great job applying pressure throughout the match," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "We didn't manage their service game very well and offensively, after that second set, we really struggled to find consistent point scoring."
 
Despite the loss, FGCU still holds a one-and-a-half match advantage in the ASUN standings with two to play, thus controlling its own destiny. On Sunday, the Eagles can claim at least a share of the ASUN regular season championship when they battle Lipscomb at 3 p.m. in Nashville.
 
Updated ASUN standings
*1. FGCU - 24-4, 12-2
*2. Kennesaw State - 17-8, 10-3
3. Liberty - 16-9, 9-4
4. Lipscomb - 13-11, 9-4
5. Stetson - 10-12, 7-5
6. North Florida - 14-15, 6-7
7. Jacksonville - 9-19, 5-9
8. North Alabama - 3-23, 1-12
9. NJIT - 1-28, 0-13
*clinched ASUN tournament berth
 
The Green and Blue led 23-20 in the opening set before the Owls rallied for force extra points, but FGCU claimed a thrilling 30-28 win in a final stretch that included a 50-second rally. The Eagles continued to roll in the second set and led 24-19, but Kennesaw State scored six straight points, forced another long set and claimed a 30-28 win of their own.
 
That match-tying victory ended FGCU's consecutive sets won streak at 26, which will stand as the second longest in the program's Division I era behind the 30-set streak set by the 2007 team.
 
Following that second set, Kennesaw State continued to surge behind the defensive play of Karlee Groover (match-high 41 digs) and the offensive balance of Lauren Chastang (23 kills), Quin Sutphin (15 kills), Dani Ballou (13 kills) and Emma Schurfranz (10 kills). Jasmine Brown added nine as the Owls produced 73 kills along with 92 digs, both of which are the highest totals against FGCU this year.
 
The Owls scored six of nine and 12 of the first 17 points while controlling the third set to take a 2-1 lead. In the fourth, FGCU rallied and took an 18-16 lead, but fell victim to a service error on the ensuing point and Kennesaw State reeled off five straight, eventually claiming a 25-21 victory.
 
Cortney VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) tallied a team-high 16 kills and added seven digs for the Eagles, while Daniele Serrano had eight kills (.300) and five blocks. Chelsey Lockey had 41 assists and 10 digs for her seventh double-double of the season.
 
Tori Morris (Virginia Beach, Va./Floyd E. Kellam HS) had two of her five blocks come via the solo variety, and Dana Axner had a team-high 27 digs, while Amanda Carroll chipped in 14 digs and six kills.
 
Serrano (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS) pushed her career block total to 460, and she's now 15 shy of surpassing Meredith Hardy's (ETSU, 2010-13, 474.0) all-time ASUN record. Meanwhile, Axner's (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS) third consecutive match with at least 22 digs gives her 483 this year and 1,107 in her career, which pushes her past Courtney Stephens (1,084, 2014-17) for the fourth-most career digs in the program's Division I era.
 
Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) had one block, which was the 200th of her illustrious career - the fifth-most among players to wear the Green and Blue all-time. Lockey (Eaton, Colo./Eaton HS) also surpassed 1,500 career assists.
 
The Eagles are 16-11 all-time against Kennesaw State.
 
Fall Sports Single-Game, Season and Group Tickets On Sale
Single game tickets for volleyball, men's soccer and women's soccer are on sale now. Prices are $7 for adults and $5 for military/veterans (with ID) and youth (age 15 and under).
 
For all inquiries, you can visit FGCUtickets.com, call 239-590-7145 or stop by the ticket office, which is open daily Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and one hour prior to all home events.
 
COACH BOTSFORD
Matt Botsford is in his sixth season as head coach of the FGCU women's volleyball program in 2019 after being hired on Feb. 10, 2014. In his tenure, Botsford-led teams have compiled a 139-49 (.739) record overall, including a 69-17 (.802) record in ASUN play. Including this past 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 next two, which saw .267 and .256 percentages, are the third and fourth highest in program history. In 2018, he led the program to its first regular season championship since 2012 (fourth overall) and its first-ever ASUN tournament title, NCAA tournament appearance, NCAA tournament win and victory over a ranked team. His first two campaigns resulted in ASUN regular season runner-up finishes, and the following two saw 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. This past season, he led the team to a win over Miami (Fla.) - the program's first-ever road Power-5 win.
 
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April 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 raise awareness.
 
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 79 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 12 plus seasons at the Division-I level. Additionally, in just eight plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 36 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including both men's and women's soccer again in 2018. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2018 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for twenty consecutive semesters. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
 
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--