FORT MYERS, Fla. - A dozen kills each from
Shelby Kent and
Ella Chapman helped lead Florida Gulf Coast University to its 14th win in row as the Eagles defeated Kennesaw State University 3-1 (20-25, 25-16, 25-15, 25-22) in Atlantic Sun Conference volleyball action from Alico Arena Friday night.
The win puts FGCU (21-5, 13-0) on the precipice of clinching the top seed in the ASUN Championship. A win in Saturday's home contest with Queens University of Charlotte will give the Eagles at least a share of the conference's regular season championship. A loss by Lipscomb University Saturday afternoon at Jacksonville plus an FGCU win would give the Eagles the title outright with a weekend of conference action still to go before the close of the regular season.
After falling in the first set, the Eagles adjusted and rolled through the next two sets. FGCU's defense forced KSU (14-10, 7-6) into hitting -.015 over the middle two frames. Conversely, the Eagles hit .237 with Chapman getting seven of her kills along the way.
"The difference was we started to find rhythm in the offensive side of things. We were sloppy in the first set, but as the match extended, we took care of the ball a little bit better," said FGCU head coach Matt Botsford."
The fourth set was tight, but FGCU used a late 4-0 run sparked by an
Alexandra Zakutney kill to make it 23-17. A few points later, Kent closed the match out in style with her 12th kill to give the Eagles the win.
Zakutney would finish a dig shy of a double-double, collecting 10 kills on the night.
Lily Tessier had a match-best 37 digs to go along with five kills and three total blocks.
Reese Burry led FGCU with 10 digs.
Claire Ertel also had eight digs.
"We made a switch with Claire to libero and she was outstanding," Coach Botsford said. "You could see it in the first set, the confidence she had in serve receive and the way she was reading the game. She earned an opportunity in that spot."
FGCU will wrap up the home regular season slate against Queens at 6 p.m. for the Eagles. The team will honor its senior class in a ceremony prior to first serve.
