Sept. 28, 2007
Box Score
For Kennesaw State fans, it had been over a year in the making. Behind a match-high 14 kills by Jenny Black and double-digit dig totals from Asjia Stokes and Selina O'Leary, the Owls defeated North Florida 3-0 (30-28, 30-28, 30-23) to earn their first victory in Atlantic Sun Conference play.
"This is a tremendous positive for us," said KSU head coach Valerie Jones. "It was a very good match. Everyone on the court contributed in a big way. We've been improving, but the results haven't always reflected that. Now we have that positive result to reflect our efforts."
Kennesaw State (3-15, 1-1 A-Sun) battled the Ospreys tooth-and-nail for the first game of the match. Down 27-24, Coach Jones called a timeout that would set the stage for one of the most important sequences of the season. Off the break, the Owls got a kill from O'Leary off a simple over-ball to give KSU the serve down two points. Stokes stepped to the service line and earned an ace to bring KSU within a point. When the Ospreys tried to respond, Lindsey Plotner threw up a solo block to thwart the attack, tying the score at 27-all. After UNF couldn't mount an attack after a Stokes serve, Black made them pay with a kill to put KSU up 28-27 and send the Ospreys into a timeout.
"I really think the first game came down to good old-fashioned determination," Coach Jones said. "We were in a position where we had the choice whether we wanted to win or lose. The team came together and decided losing that game was not going to be an option."
The Owls kept the momentum going by taking the next point, as Black's next attack went for a kill. With two game points in hand, KSU would lose the first point on a service error. But after a brief rally, the pressure was too much for the Ospreys, as an attack error gave the Black and Gold game one, 30-28.
Game two was a battle as well. Kennesaw State led 25-21 after a service ace for Black. After an Osprey timeout, the home team went on a 5-1 run to tie the score at 26-all. The Owls were not going to be denied, as Ginny Frederick took Black's pass off and dumped it over the net to put KSU up 27-26. Frederick then set the table for Sabrita Gulley for a kill, making it 28-26. UNF won the next point, but a service error by the Ospreys gave KSU a game point opportunity. The home team fought off the first point, but the triumphant visitors took the second as Black landed a kill in the Osprey's court. KSU took game two 30-28 and led the match two games to none.
In the finale, the Owls led in the early stages by as many as five, but UNF (3-13, 1-2 A-Sun) cut the lead to three at 23-20. But with the finish line in sight, KSU turned the marathon into a sprint. A Stokes kill put KSU up 24-20, then a block by Plotner and Black gave the Owls a five-point cushion, forcing UNF to call their final timeout. Undaunted, KSU took the next two points thanks to a UNF attack error and the fourth ace of the match for Stokes. Five points later, the Owls had six match points in hand, leading 29-23. It would only take one try, as an attack by UNF landed outside the line, giving KSU a 30-23 win in the final game and a historic 3-0 sweep.
Black's 14 kills were the most she has recorded since a 3-0 sweep of North Carolina A&T on August 24th of this season. She also had six digs, an ace, and two total blocks.
"Jenny did a great job hitting the ball, but she also did a lot of the intangibles," said Coach Jones. "She was very good with passing in our serve reception game. But she wasn't the only person who came to play for us tonight. Everyone on the court performed well and contributed at big moments for us."
In her return to the lineup, Plotner had eight kills and four total blocks, putting her blocks per game average back up to 1.00 for the season. Stokes had 12 digs, five kills, four aces, and one block. Every player on the court for the Owls contributed at least one point to the total.
The Owls will now try to turn tonight's victory into a two-match winning streak when they travel to face Jacksonville, Fla. Match time is set for 5:00 p.m. Saturday.
