Score: Kennesaw State 3, FGCU 1 (12-25, 30-28, 29-27, 25-18)
Records: Kennesaw State (19-4, 13-1), FGCU (20-9, 10-4)
Key Players: Sydni Shelton (12 kills and 7 blocks),
Liesl Engelbrecht (12 kills and 6 blocks), Lauren Chastang (11 kills),
Kristi Piedimonte (46 assists and 9 digs),
Katarina Morton (17 digs)
Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (XML) | Highlights
THE STORYLINE:
· Kennesaw State clinched its first outright ASUN Regular Season Championship in program history by beating FGCU in four sets down in Fort Myers, Florida.
The Owls finish the regular season 19-4 overall and 13-1 in the ASUN. The 19 wins ties a program record for wins in a season.
KSU will be the one seed in the ASUN tournament next week at Lipscomb. The first round begins on Thursday, but the Owls will wait to find out who their opponent will be on Friday, November 17.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
FGCU jumped on the Owls early in the first set and used that early advantage to gain a 1-0 lead in the match.
Needing to bounce back in the second, Kennesaw State went on a 7-2 run to go up 15-10. With the Owls seemingly in control, FGCU won seven of eight points to pull even in the set.
FGCU ended up having a set point in the second set to take a 2-0 lead in the match, but the Owls held it off pushing the set into extra points. After that, KSU had three set points before finally evening the match with two blocks in a row at 30-28.
The third set was another long one, but was a story of two comebacks. At first, FGCU controlled the set early on. Trailing 20-16, the Owls won four straight to tie it at 20 and then scored four more to take a 24-22 lead.
Gulf Coast spoiled both of those set points for the Owls and then they held off three more before Kennesaw State finally took the set 29-27.
In the fourth set, Kennesaw State went on an 8-1 run going up 18-14. With a championship in their grasp, KSU kept the pressure on and finished off the Eagles in four sets 25-18 to secure their first outright ASUN Championship in the regular season.
SCHUNZEL QUOTE:
"It's simply pure pride and happiness to see our special group of women finish a regular season title off in that fashion. What a gutsy, gritty game that was. Obviously, we still have work to do, in what's going to be an absolute battle of a conference tournament, but tonight we're going to enjoy this achievement.
There is a lot more to this team than just our four coaches and 16 players, so tonight I want to especially thank every single person who has committed to making Kennesaw State volleyball a championship program. So many incredible people at KSU have had huge roles getting this to where it is, and they live and breathe for our players' success, on and off the court. This title is just as much yours. Thank you all."
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
· Kennesaw State wins its second straight ASUN Championship in the regular season and first outright championship in the regular season in program history.
· Next weekend, KSU will compete in the ASUN Tournament as the one seed. The tournament begins on Thursday, November 16 but the Owls will have a bye in the first round.
· The Owls had their 19
th win of the season against FGCU matching the most wins in program history in a season.
· This was the first victory for the Owls at Florida Gulf Coast since the 2010 season.
UP NEXT
Kennesaw State will head to the ASUN Tournament as the top seed in Nashville, Tennessee at Lipscomb next weekend. The Owls first match in the tournament will be on Friday and will find out who they will play on Thursday night.
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.
It is free admission to all home volleyball matches for the Owls.
- #GoKSUOwls -
