Score: Kennesaw State 2, FGCU 3 (22-25, 25-23, 14-25, 25-21, 9-15)
Records: Kennesaw State (16-10, 10-2), FGCU (23-5, 9-3)
Key Players: Anaiah Boyer (19 kills and 14 digs), Kelly Marcinek (17 kills hitting .519), Kristi Piedimonte (53 assists), Katarina Morton (23 digs), Kristi Piedimonte (53 assists)
 
 Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (XML) 
 
THE STORYLINE:
· The Kennesaw State volleyball team came up just short on the road against Florida Gulf Coast on November 5, 2016 in Alico Arena. The Owls battled back twice from being down in the match, but FGCU won the fifth set 15-9 to seal the match.
 
The Owls were led by Anaiah Boyer with 19 kills and 14 digs and Kelly Marcinek who hit .519 with 17 kills.
 
KSU currently sits at 10-2 and is tied with Lipscomb, who also has a 10-2 record in the ASUN with two matches left in the regular season.
 
SCHUNZEL QUOTE:
Tonight is obviously disappointing for everyone in our locker room. I'm proud that we fought hard all night, but we always fight hard. The next step for us is to have more of our players making big plays in big moments. That unfortunately didn't happen tonight, but we have a team full of players capable of doing just that. We're still in a great position heading into our last weekend. We're going to prepare to play two good matches at home next weekend and then head to Nashville and play a great conference tournament."

HOW IT HAPPENED: 
First Set: The Eagles came out excited on senior night and built an early four-point lead and the Owls had trouble overcoming that until late in the set when Maddie Jones stepped up to serve. The KSU ace leader led the Owls on a 6-0 run to tie the score up at 21. FGCU hung tough though hitting back with a 4-1 run to close out the set 25-22.
 
Second Set: Not wanting to fall down 2-0 on the road in a hostile environment, the Owls came out hot in the second set and built up an early 7-3 lead. FGCU wouldn't go quietly though as they forced Kennesaw State to use a timeout. Despite the timeout, the Eagles continued their run going up 17-14 with the momentum on their side. Anaiah Boyer and the Owls clawed their way back in it getting to 20 first and after the Eagles spoiled two set points, KSU cashed in to even the match 1-1.
 
Third Set: The home team came out on fire in the third set jumping out to an 11-1 lead and never looked back. The Owls got to within five, but couldn't get closer than that and once again found themselves in a hole.

Fourth Set: KSU bounced back in the fourth, but still found themselves in an early hole trailing 6-3. Kennesaw State still trailed until they went on a 9-2 run going up 18-15 and continued to surge closing out the set 25-21.
 
Fifth Set: The teams traded points early, but the Owls couldn't grab a lead as Gulf Coast went up 10-5. KSU tried to mount one last comeback getting within two, but couldn't get any closer than that as the Eagles finished the fifth set 15-9.
 
#NESTNOTES
· The Owls sit at 10-2 after tonight's loss. With the loss in five sets to Florida Gulf Coast, KSU holds the tie breaker if both teams finish the regular season with the same record because the Owls beat the Eagles in four sets.
· Anaiah Boyer led the team with 19 kills and 14 digs. It was her 11^th double-double of the season. She also set a new career high in a season with 337 kills.
· Kristi Piedimonte finished the match with 53 assists. She eclipsed 1,000 assists in a season for the first time in her career.
· Katarina Morton had a team high 23 digs in the match putting her over 500 digs on the season for the first time in her career.

UP NEXT
The Owls will finish the regular season at home in the KSU Convocation Center against North Florida on Friday, November 11 and then face Jacksonville on Saturday, November 12 for senior night. KSU has two seniors in Kelly Marcinek and Fanise Cannon.

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.