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FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Kennesaw State volleyball team couldn't seem to get into a rhythm Sunday afternoon, falling behind early to FGCU before eventually losing in four sets, 25-21, 25-13, 21-25, 25-9.
 
How it Happened: The Eagles (16-3, 6-1) jumped on the Owls (12-6, 5-1) early, using a 6-0 run to lead 8-3. FGCU pushed its lead to 13-4 before a kill from Dani Ballou finally halted the Eagles' run. The Owls chipped away at the lead to pull within three, 22-19, following back-to-back kills from Ballou. That would be as close as KSU would get as a kill from FGCU's Erin Shomaker clinched the set, 25-21, after the Owls fought off two straight set points.
 
The second set began in a similar fashion as FGCU raced out to a 13-2 lead, rattling off eight straight after being tied 1-1. Down 11, KSU looked to pull back in it with a quick 5-1 swing to trail 16-9. The Eagles managed to keep the Owls at bay, though, answering each point before eventually taking the set 25-13. KSU finished the set hitting .033 compared to .407 for the Eagles.
 
The Owls fought back out of the intermission, trading points to open the third set. A kill from Emma Schurfranz followed by a block by Schurfranz and Madeline Johnson and an ace from Dennis gave KSU its first lead of the match 7-6. The Owls pushed the tempo with a 6-0 run, featuring three kills from Lauren Chastang, to lead 13-7. FGCU cut the lead to two, 20-18, but a quick 3-0 run, capped off by back-to-back kills from Quin Sutphin, put the Owls back in control. Sutphin eventually clinched the set for KSU with a kill to make it 25-21. KSU hit .429 in the third set with Chastang recording nine kills.
 
Hoping to keep the momentum rolling in the fourth set, the Owls and Eagles went point-for-point early before a 5-1 swing gave FGCU a 9-5 lead. A 5-0 run put the Eagles firmly in front, 14-6, before eventually pulling away with a 6-0 run to lead 22-8. KSU hit -.086 in the final set, falling 25-9.
 
Notes: Lauren Chastang recorded her third straight double-double, 10th of the season, with 18 kills and 12 digs … Quin Sutphin and Dani Ballou finished in double-figures with 12 and 10 kills, respectively … four Owls recorded double-digit digs led by Karlee Groover with 16, followed by Chastang's 12, Shelby Dennis with 11 and Bri Becerra with 10 … Lexi Broadwater nearly had her second straight double-double with 42 assists and nine digs … The Owls hit .134 for the match, their second-lowest hitting percentage of the season … KSU committed 30 errors, compared to 12 for FGCU, to mark only the third time this season the team has recorded 30 or more errors.
 
Quotes: Head Coach Keith Schunzel
On the team's errors...
"Today we simply made way too many hitting and serving errors to expect to win a road game against one fo the top teams in the league. Hats off to FGCU who forced us into some of that stuff."

On some positive takeaways...
"Our overall fight and resilience was pretty good at times, especially late in set one and all of set three, but much of sets two and four we looked a little demoralized and shell shocked. We will need to show more maturity and grit in that phase. Everyone who played had nice moments, but I thought Dani Ballou played of her most aggressive and solid matches of the year."

Up Next: The Owls are back in the nest this Friday and Saturday, hosting Liberty at 7 p.m. before turning around to host Jacksonville at 5 p.m. the following day.