Oct. 27, 2007
Box Score
KENNESAW, Ga.--On Senior Day at Kennesaw State, Lindsey Plotner's teammates wanted to give her the best present possible with a victory in her final home match. While the effort was there, the Owls fell just short, falling 3-2 (24-30, 30-23, 33-31, 30-32, 15-9) to visiting Stetson University at the KSU Convocation Center on Saturday afternoon.
"The team really wanted to get Lindsey a win in her final home match," said KSU head coach Valerie Jones. "We played really well and definitely had our chances to win, but Stetson made the plays they had to in the end to beat us."
Plotner led the Owls with a program-record 19 kills. She completed the first of four double-doubles for the Owls on the day with a career-best 18 digs. Jenny Black had 18 kills and 12 digs, while Sabrita Gulley had 16 kills and 14 digs. Setter Tara Dillon also set a KSU record with 63 assists in the five-game match. She dug up 18 opposition attacks and tied Plotner for team-high in blocks with six total.
The Owls (4-22, 2-7 A-Sun) led the Hatters in every statistical category, but Stetson took advantage of KSU's 18 service errors and 37 attack errors to earn key points. Gia Iacona had 18 kills to lead the Hatters, while Rebecca Orzechowicz had 14 kills and 12 digs for a double-double. Setter Karla Readshaw nearly had a triple-double with 43 assists, 11 digs, and nine kills.
In game one, the Owls offense was firing on all cylinders, attacking at a .263 percentage to win game one 30-24. With the score tied at 9-all in the first frame, KSU went on a 9-3 run to put the game out of reach from the visiting team. Game point in hand at 29-24, Jasmine Ruiz put home a kill to give the Owls the win.
In the second stanza, the Owls jumped out to an early lead again but Stetson came back with a 5-0 run to take their first lead of the match at 8-7. After the Owls took a point to tie the score up, the run continued with six more points going on the scoreboard for the Hatters to give them a 14-8 lead.
Trailing 28-23, the Owls would pull no closer in game two, with an attack error by the Black and Gold giving the Hatters game two 30-23.
The third game would be the first of two to go into extra points. After trailing 27-24, the Owls rode kills by Ruiz and Asjia Stokes pull KSU into the lead, 28-27. Stetson took the next two points, giving the visitors game point, 29-28.
The Owls would not go gently into that good afternoon, as a kill by Stokes evened the score. A kill pulled the Hatters into the lead at 30-29, but back-to-back kills by Plotner and Gulley gave the Owls game point at 31-30.
Gulley's kill would be the last point the Owls would earn in game three, as Stetson scored the final three. With another opportunity to close the game, a kill by Orzechowicz gave the Hatters game three 33-31.
The fourth game would be more of the same, as neither team built a lead larger than three. Stetson had the opportunity to win the match, leading 29-26 after a three-point spurt; however, the Owls refused to quit. A kill by Black pulled KSU within two points. An attack by the Hatters landed outside the court, pulling KSU to within one and forcing Stetson to call timeout.
The stoppage didn't work, as the Owls tied the score at 29-all on a block by Ruiz and Stokes. Stetson finally earned their 30th point of the game, but with the lead only at one tally the match continued.
Ruiz extended the match with a kill to even the score at 30-30. Stetson tried to take the lead back, but Orzechowicz' attack was blocked back by Stokes and Plotner to give KSU game point. One opportunity was all the Owls needed to extend the match to a fifth game, as a kill by Plotner gave the Owls game four 32-30.
In the finale, the Owls took the first point, then led 2-1 after a Gulley kill. But the Hatters found their groove in serve reception, winning a point on every serve the Owls had. Leading 14-9, the Hatters took the final point on the 18th and final service error of the match for KSU.
Both coaches shortened their benches, with the Owls playing the same seven players the entire match and the Hatters (8-15, 3-7 A-Sun) matching with the same eight.
The Black and Gold will conclude their season with a two-match road trip next weekend. The Owls will face East Tennessee State next Friday before heading to USC Upstate on Saturday.
Notes:The match was the first five-game affair in the history of the KSU Convocation Center... Selina O'Leary had 12 digs for the Owls, with Stokes earning 14...KSU set program records for team digs (89), assists (70), total attempts (196), and kills (73)
