Oct. 17, 2008
Box Score
KENNESAW, Ga.--For the third straight match, junior Chelsey Denesha and redshirt sophomore Sabrita Gulley each had double-doubles as the Kennesaw State volleyball team defeated USC Upstate 3-1 (25-14, 19-25, 25-22, 25-17) on Friday night at the KSU Convocation Center.
Denesha led all players with 17 kills and tied Gulley and USC Upstate's Megan Healey for match-high in digs with 10. Gulley completed her double-double effort with 11 kills. Asjia Stokes led all players in points with 20 after tallying 16 kills, three aces and two block assists.
The Owls jumped out to an early 9-4 lead in the first set and never looked back in taking the win. Only once during the first set did USC Upstate record a point on its serve as the Owls sided out the Spartans at a 92 percent rate in the opening frame. KSU hit .364 for the opening set, getting the clinching point on an Upstate ball handling error.
The second set would be a different story as the Spartans took control, taking the set 25-19. The Spartans used three consecutive attack errors by the Owls to open up a 10-3 lead, putting KSU in a hole it would not be able to get out of for the rest of the set.
"In the first set, we really did a good job of coming out and taking control early," said KSU head coach Valerie Jones. "In the second set, we lost focus a bit and allowed Upstate to come back into the match."
The third set would be tight for the first 18 points until the Black and Gold rolled off an 8-0 run, spurred by kills for Callie Churchwell, Paris Leonce and Gulley and a Rachael Albright service ace. Upstate didn't go quietly, fighting off three set points and chipping away at the lead until it was down to two, 24-22. After a KSU timeout, Gulley came up with the clinching kill to give the Owls the third set, 25-22.
The fourth and final set was tight early, but KSU (3-17, 2-10) used a 7-1 run to take an 11-5 advantage. KSU pushed the score to 18-11 after a three point spurt on a kill by Stokes, an ace for Selina O'Leary, and an Upstate attack error. Following a timeout, the Spartans would take the next four points to cut the lead to three, 18-15, and force KSU into a timeout.
In the deciding stretch of the match, it was Kennesaw State at played best. The Black and Gold took the next two points off the timeout on a Denesha kill and an Upstate attack error. KSU gave back a point with a service error, but the Owls earned the next one on a successful attack by Denesha. After an Upstate attack error, kills by Gulley and Denesha gave the Owls match point at 24-16. Upstate would fight off the first attempt with a kill, but Denesha's 17th kill of the match gave the Owls their first four-set win in program history.
The Owls hit .393 for the final set and .252 for the match with 57 kills. The Owls had 55 digs, compared to just 42 for the Spartans (6-13, 3-8). KSU also out-blocked Upstate by a 6-2 margin.
Ginny Frederick and Albright combined for 39 of KSU's 48 assists. Holly Mauldin had 26 assists for Upstate to lead all setters.
KSU will have a short respite before taking the court tomorrow against East Tennessee State in the final A-Sun match of the week for the Owls. Match time is set for 4:00 p.m. With KSU supporting Breast Cancer Awareness month tomorrow, all fans who wear pink will receive free admission. In addition, the Owls will wear pink uniforms for the first time in program history.
