Score: Kennesaw State 3, FGCU 1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-20)
Records: Kennesaw State (10-8, 4-0), FGCU (16-3, 3-1)
Key Players: Team (16 Blocks ties school record), Anaiah Boyer (21 kills hitting .333, 10 digs, 8 blocks), Kristi Piedimonte (39 assists), Katarina Morton (18 digs)
 
Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (XML) | Photo Gallery
 
 
THE STORYLINE: 
· On an emotional night for the second annual Griffin's Game, the Kennesaw State volleyball team made a statement on their home floor halting the longest winning streak in the nation against Florida Gulf Coast. The Owls beat the Eagles in four sets as two time ASUN Player of the Week, Anaiah Boyer, once again led the way with 21 kills, 10 digs and eight blocks. KSU raised just over $4,000 at Griffin's Game by selling t-shirts and taking donations at the game. The Owls will be accepting donations through Sunday. To donate, click here.

SCHUNZEL ON GRIFFIN'S GAME:
"I want to sincerely thank everyone who came out tonight for Griffin's Game. We had another big, enthusiastic crowd and we were able to raise a lot of money for the Watkins in the process."
 
On the Big ASUN Win:
"Gulf Coast is a very good team with some extremely talented, physical attackers. Our serve and blocking game showed up in a big way tonight and as the match went on we were able to slow down their hammers. We had great performances from all three of our pin hitters, Kristi Piedimonte distributed the ball to our hitters very well all night and Fanise Cannon was phenomenal for us serving, passing and digging in the back row."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: 
First Set: On an emotional night, the Owls won the first point and took an early 7-4 lead forcing FGCU to use a timeout. The Eagles settled down and went up three to take control of the set. KSU tried to mount a comeback late, but fell just short as FGCU won the first set 25-22.
 
Second Set: After once again finding themselves in a hole, the Owls knew they needed to respond. With the set even at 15-15, two kills by Syndi Shelton and a kill by Boyer forced FGCU to use a timeout trailing 18-16. KSU kept their foot on the gas from there pushing their lead to five and closing the set on a block from Rachel Taylor and Boyer.
 
Third Set: After the break in the locker room, KSU came out on fire building a nine-point lead early and cruised to go up 2-1 with a 25-15 win. The Owls held the Eagles to eight kills with seven errors in the third set.
 
Fourth Set: Knowing FGCU would come out strong with their backs against the wall, Kennesaw State matched their intensity early. The Owls physicality pushed them to a 12-9 lead and then a 19-15 lead, but FGCU responded evening the match at 19. A big kill by Kelly Marcinek and block by Sydni Shelton and Liesl Engelbrecht spoiled the Eagles momentum as the Owls pushed to a 25-20 for the team's ninth consecutive victory. The Owls defense held the FGCU attack to a -.077 hitting percentage in the fourth set.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 
· Kennesaw State snapped FGCU's nation-long win streak at 15 matches.
· The Owls pushed their win streak to nine matches to set the longest win streak in school history. The previous long was eight matches in 2010.
· KSU is 2-0 in Griffin's Game beating NJIT 3-0 last year and FGCU this year 3-1.
· Anaiah Boyer continued her dominance posting 21 kills, 10 digs and eight blocks against FGCU. Through four matches of conference play, she has 81 kills and at least 20 in three of the four.
· Overall the Owls had three players with double-figure kills as Shelton and Marcinek both had 10 to with Boyer's 21.
· The 16.0 blocks by KSU ties a school record. The last time the Owls had 16.0 blocks was against Jacksonville in 2012.
 · The back row was also on its game as four players had double-digit digs. Katarina Morton led the way with 18, Maddie Jones had 15, Fanise Cannon had 12 and Boyer had 10.
 
UP NEXT
The Owls will look to push their win streak to 10 and get to 5-0 in ASUN play hosting Stetson Saturday, October 8 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcasted on ASUN TV.

To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State volleyball news follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsVB or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.
 
All tickets to all 2016 home volleyball contests are free throughout the year.