NASHVILLE, Tenn.--Junior Asjia Stokes tied for match-high honors with 11 kills as the Kennesaw State volleyball team (6-24, 5-15) fell in the season finale to Belmont 3-1 (25-16, 25-18, 22-25, 25-23) on Saturday afternoon at the Curb Event Center in an Atlantic Sun Conference match.
While the Owls dropped the first two sets, Kennesaw State wasn't quite ready to start the off-season, taking the third set in stirring fashion. The Owls used a 4-0 run to storm to a 14-8 lead. While Belmont (23-7, 16-4) would cut into the lead, the Owls pushed the lead back to five, 18-13, on a Stokes kill. Belmont sliced the lead down to a pair, but the Owls surged into a timeout up 23-18 after a kill by Callie Churchwell. The Owls earned set point chances when a successful attack by Sabrita Gulley made the score 24-19. The Bruins would earn the next three points, but a block by Churchwell and junior Chelsy Denesha gave the Owls a 25-22 win in the set.
In the fourth set, the Owls and the Bruins were locked in a tight duel as the set featured 17 ties and two lead changes. The final tie came at 23-all as the Owls used a Belmont attack error to even the set for the final time. Belmont would hold on, however, as a pair of kills ended the season for KSU with a 25-23 loss in the fourth set of the match.
Junior libero Selina O'Lear finished with a match-high 13 digs, giving her 307 for the season. That total marks the first time a KSU player has topped the 300-dig mark. Gulley and Denesha each broke the single-season record in kills, with Gulley now owning the mark with 284 this season.
The Owls also set program records for wins in a season and conference wins in a season.
