By: by Jason Hanes
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Chelsey Denesha led the Kennesaw State volleyball team with seven kills as the Owls fell 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-20) to Florida Gulf Coast Saturday afternoon in an Atlantic Sun Conference match.
The Owls (9-8, 4-6) sputtered out of the gate, losing the opener after hitting just -.033 as a team. The second and third sets would prove to be much more competitive, as the Owls were within a point in the late stages before the host Eagles pulled away.
KSU trailed the second set 18-13, but rallied to trim the score to 22-21 after a Denesha kill. FGCU (9-7, 8-2) took advantage of a pair of miscues by the Owls to earn a set point chance, up 24-21. A service error enabled the Owls to fight off the first try, but KSU was called for one of their four blocking errors on the following point, giving the home team a 25-22 win.
In the third set, the Owls trailed 21-15, but a furious 5-0 rally got the Owls within a point, 21-20. Kills by Sabrita Gulley and Bianca Rucker sparked the run, and a block by Chanel Davis and Gulley added a third point to the spurt. Back-to-back attack errors by the Eagles brought the Owls within a point and capped the run.
But that would be as close as the Owls would get, as FGCU scored the final four points of the match to earn the win.
Denesha, Gulley, and Rachael Albright each led the Owls with seven digs.
The Owls will return to action when they start the second half of the A-Sun schedule this Tuesday night at Mercer. First serve in Macon, Ga., is set for 7 p.m.
