In a five-set thriller that was decided by a total of 11 points, the FGCU volleyball team (27-5) dropped a heartbreaker to Kennesaw State (22-8) in the A-SUN championship match in Alico Arena on Saturday.
With the victory, Kennesaw State secured the A-SUN's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, while the Eagles will have to wait and see if they get an at-large bid.
"Definitely proud, not surprised at all," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said of his team's comeback from two sets down. "That's been the hallmark of this team all season long, their toughness and grit. That's a lineup, after the second set, that we haven't played at all this year. For them to be able to adapt and put themselves in a position to get to the fifth set, just to get there alone was an accomplishment considering how things looked previously. Obviously, we would have liked a different result, but I just loved the way they performed tonight."
It was the fifth straight season that either Kennesaw State ended FGCU's season or vice versa, and it was the third consecutive season the two teams met in the championship match. The latest outing didn't disappoint as Saturday's match featured 54 ties and 25 lead changes. Outside of the second set, neither team held a lead of more than three points the entire match.
In the first set, which featured 11 ties and six lead changes, FGCU trailed 23-20 before rallying to earn a set point following a kill from junior Cortney VanLiew. However, Kennesaw State stuffed an attack and responded with the final three points for a 27-25 win. The momentum continued as the Owls opened up a 16-8 lead in the second set. FGCU rallied to pull within 24-22, but Quin Sutphin's kill gave Kennesaw State a two-set lead.
Following that, things got really interesting, starting with a wild third set that featured 18 ties, seven lead changes and neither team leading by more than two points. Trailing 21-19, FGCU reeled off three straight points, capped by a solo block from sophomore Tori Morris. After their first set point was stopped, freshman Shelby Beisner was forced to play front row after a substitution mishap. All she did was team with sophomore Chelsey Lockey to stuff a Lexi Broadwater attack and give FGCU the set.
The Eagles opened the fourth set with four of the first five points, but Kennesaw State responded, eventually led 23-21 and appeared to be on the verge of clinching the match. Senior Daniele Serrano teamed with junior Snowy Burnam on a block, however, and redshirt senior Amanda Carroll followed with back-to-back kills to give the Eagles a set point. A kill from Sutphin tied it up, but back-to-back double-blocks from FGCU gave the Green and Blue a 26-24 win and forced a fifth set.
The final set, which featured 10 ties and five lead changes, saw the Eagles hold leads of 10-8 and 12-10. Kennesaw State, however, responded with five of the final six points, including the final two, to clinch the match.
For FGCU, Saturday night featured a vintage performance from the program's all-time kills leader, Carroll, who produced a season-high 14 kills at a .400 clip along with 15 digs for her 44th career double-double. It was her eighth double-digit dig performance of the season.
VanLiew finished with a team-high 15 kills along with 11 digs and four block assists. Her 67 attacks is tied for the fifth most in a match in the program's Division I era. It was her eighth double-double of the season and the 27th of her career.
Serrano, who became the A-SUN's all-time career blocks leader on Friday, tallied 10 kills and seven blocks (two solo) against the Owls. The 2018 A-SUN tournament MVP also hit .385.
As a team, FGCU totaled a Division I era single-match record 35 blocks (five solo). The Green and Blue's 30 block assists also ties their Oct. 7, 2018 performance against Lipscomb for the most by a team in the Division I era.
The record-breaking night for the team was led by a record-breaking night individually from Morris, who had 12 blocks (three solo), which is the most in any Division I era match - topping five other previous outings of 10, including three from Serrano.
Defensively, sophomore Dana Axner had a team-high 30 digs. She finished the tournament with two 30-plus dig performances, which gives her three such performances in her career - led by a 39-dig outing last year against West Virginia. She also has at least 27 digs in three of four career ASUN tournament matches, and she now has the top two single-season dig totals in the Division I era.
Lockey recorded a team-high 49 assists along with nine digs and a career-high six blocks. She also added one ace.
Notes:
FGCU had never come back from down two sets at home to win a match in program history, and they had produced only three such performances on the road. On Saturday, they nearly did before the Owls closed the match on a 5-1 run.
The Eagles had their 21-match home winning streak snapped in the loss. It was tied with Texas for the third-longest streak in the nation.
FGCU will have to wait and see if they receive one of the NCAA's at-large bids. The selection show occurs next Sunday, Dec. 1.
Axner and Morris were named to the all-tournament team.
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