By: by Jason Hanes
Box Score
KENNESAW, Ga. - Sabrita Gulley had 15 kills with just two errors for a .481 attack percentage as the Kennesaw State volleyball team earned its first sweep of the season with a 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-16) win over North Florida in an Atlantic Sun Conference match Friday night at the KSU Convocation Center.
"I could tell all week that this team had higher expectations for themselves than to let outside influences dictate the outcome of the match," said KSU head coach Karen Weatherington. "This team worked very hard all week on serve reception, passing, and executing to the best of their abilities."
Rachael Albright and Ginny Frederick combined to record 32 assists at the setter spot for the Owls. "Full credit tonight goes to our setters," Coach Weatherington said. "They executed the game plan to perfection. They were specific with what they wanted from their hitters. Ginny and Rachael executed every single time, even though a few of the passes put them in tough positions to make the plays."
The Owls (8-6, 3-4) overcame an early 4-1 deficit to take a 13-10 lead in the opening set. The Owls then used a 5-0 run made up in part with kills by Asjia Stokes and Selina O'Leary, to take an 18-10 lead. North Florida would trim the lead down to one at 22-21, but the Owls were not to be denied. Kills by Gulley and Chelsey Denesha gave the Owls set point at 24-21. The Ospreys (7-8, 2-5) fought off the first, but a ball handling error by UNF gave the Owls the set, 25-22.
The second set was the most competitive of the match, featuring seven ties and three lead changes. With the Owls ahead 22-21, UNF earned back-to-back kills to take a 23-22 lead. KSU's setters stepped up, as Albright and Frederick each recorded kills on the next two points to give the Owls set point, 24-23. A service error gave UNF its 24th point, but in the extended points to close the set, the Black and Gold got a kill from Stokes for another set point chance and a stunning kill by Frederick to close the set, 26-24.
After trading points early in the third set, a 7-1 run by the Owls put the home team ahead 12-5 in the finale and put the Ospreys in a hole they could never fully climb out of. With KSU ahead 20-16, the Owls closed the match on a 5-0 run. Consecutive errors by the Ospreys were followed by Gulley's final kill of the match and a pair of aces by Albright, giving KSU its first sweep of the season.
The Owls hit .312 for the match, with no player committing more than four attack errors. Denesha had nine kills for KSU while Gulley had eight. O'Leary led KSU in digs with 11.
North Florida hit .187 for the match as the Ospreys were stymied in part by KSU's eight blocks. Callie Churchwell helped to earn the lion's share of the blocks, collecting five total.
Danielle Lerch led UNF with 12 kills.
The Owls will return to the Convocation Center court tomorrow as Jacksonville visits for an Atlantic Sun Conference match. First serve is set for 3:30 p.m.
