Oct. 12, 2007
Box Score
KENNESAW, Ga.-- Jenny Black recorded her third double-double of the season and Ginny Frederick tallied a career-high 45 assists, but the Kennesaw State volleyball team fell 3-1 (30-23, 27-30, 30-22, 30-22) to Gardner-Webb on Friday night in an Atlantic Sun Conference match at the KSU Convocation Center.
"Our team showed some fight tonight," said KSU head coach Valerie Jones. "We knew Gardner-Webb was going to make a lot of tough digs against us and that they would be solid in their passing game. But I'm proud of the way we came back and won the second game after lost the first. Hopefully we can build on that and come out and be tough against Campbell tomorrow."
Neither team had a great deal of offensive traction in game one, but the Bulldogs (12-12, 3-3 A-Sun) used a 6-1 run midway through the game to build a 16-10 lead. Trailing 21-16, the Owls scored the next three points in a row. Sabrita Gulley tallied a kill, Gardner-Webb had an attack land outside the court, and Rachel Odom pushed home an attack to bring KSU within a pair and send the Bulldogs into a timeout.
The Owls would cut the lead to one after consecutive errors by GWU made the score 22-21. But the Bulldogs went on a 4-0 spurt to extend the lead to five and dash the Owls' chances of getting the victory. Trailing 27-23, the Owls committed three consecutive errors to give game one to the visitors 30-23.
In the second game, the Owls soared to a 30-27 win, evening the match at a game apiece. The Owls opened the game on a 7-1 run, with Asjia Stokes getting a kill and a service ace and the Bulldogs committing five errors to provide the points for KSU.
GWU would cut the lead to one at 9-8, but the Black and Gold stunned the visitors with a 10-2 run to take a 19-10 lead. Odom, Gulley, Black, Stokes, and Lindsey Plotner all had kills in the run, while Fredrick had an ace and Odom and Gulley combined for a block.
The visitors weren't done yet, as GWU stormed back to make the score 28-27. With the lead evaporating, KSU found a way to quench their thirst for victory. Plotner brought the Owls to game point with a kill to make it 29-27. The pressure would get to the Bulldogs, as a bad set by Regina Feagin gave KSU the win 30-27.
After the intermission, the Bulldogs stormed to an 8-1 lead in the third game. The Owls would hang tough, trimming the lead to five at 25-20 after a kill by Black. GWU was forced to take a timeout after seeing a nine-point lead cut to five in the late stages.
After the 60-second break, Gardner-Webb would score five of the final seven points to take the game. A service ace by Eman Burns would account for the final point the Owls scored in the game.
In the finale, with a throng of 116 fans cheering them on, the Owls gained an early 1-1 tie thanks to an attack error by the Bulldogs. That would be the final tie of the match as GWU scored nine of the next 11 points to take a commanding 10-3 lead. The Owls would score three of the final five points in the match, as Stokes and Jasmine Ruiz each had kills, with Ruiz throwing in a solo block to boot. But the deficit would prove to be too great, as GWU took the game 30-22 and the match 3-1.
Gulley led the Owls with 14 kills, while Black converted the double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs. It was Black's first double-double since KSU's victory over UNC Asheville September 1.
Frederick's 45 assists topped her previous career-high of 42 set against Georgia Southern on August 28. The sophomore is now averaging 9.25 assists per game in A-Sun matches.
Libero Selina O'Leary led the Owls with 11 digs. The Plainfield, Ill., native became the first KSU player to record over 200 digs in a season.
Ashley Pridgedon led GWU with a match-high 23 kills. Bethany Martin had 11 kills, while Katie Matykowski had a match-best 24 digs to lead three Bulldogs with double-figure dig totals. Early in game four, Audra Harrison recorded her 1,000th career kill, pushing her over the 1,000-kill/1,000-dig plateau for her career.
The Owls will have a quick turnaround, hosting Campbell on Saturday afternoon at the KSU Convocation Center. Match time is set for 4:00 p.m.
