By: by Jason Hanes
KENNESAW, Ga. - Sitting one-half game up in the race for sixth in the Atlantic Sun Conference, the Kennesaw State volleyball team will face two stiff road tests this weekend with matches at Campbell and East Tennessee State this Friday and Saturday.
The Owls (11-9, 6-7) are coming off a 3-1 victory over Belmont last Saturday at the KSU Convocation Center to move into solo sixth in the standings. Senior Chelsey Denesha led the Owls with 18 kills, while Sabrita Gulley added 17 successful attacks to spark the KSU offense. KSU has won two of its last three A-Sun matches, with wins over Mercer and the Bruins bookending a loss to Lipscomb.
Last week's victory over Belmont gave the Owls 11 wins for the year. In the previous three years of the program's existence, the Owls had only won 11 matches total, with six in 2008 serving as the benchmark. The Owls have also already set records for conference wins and non-conference wins in a year.
To keep a grip on sixth place, the Owls will have to beat a pair of teams that won earlier this year at the Convocation Center. In Friday night's match at Buies Creek, N.C., KSU faces a Campbell squad that won 3-1 earlier this year. A combination of short serving by Campbell and bad passing by the Owls spelled doom for the Owls Sept. 19, as the Camels had 10 service aces and blocked 11 KSU attacks in the four-set match. Ashley Weers led Campbell with 16 kills and a .682 attack percentage in the CU victory earlier this year. The Camels are in fourth place in the A-Sun with an 8-4 conference mark and a 15-8 overall record.
Saturday evening, the Owls will try to exorcise the demons of one of the most painful losses of the season when they face ETSU in Johnson City, Tenn. In the Sept. 18 match, the Owls trailed 2-1 entering the fourth set, but rallied to send the match to a fifth. With match point in hand at 14-13, the Owls couldn't take advantage as ETSU was able to come away with a 17-15 win in the set and a 3-2 win in the match. Gulley had 24 kills for the Owls in the loss, setting a new program record for kills in a match in the process.
The Bucs are the team that is closest to the coat tails of the Owls in the chase for sixth and the final qualifying spot for the A-Sun Championships. ETSU has a 5-7 mark in A-Sun matches and is 7-14 overall. Currently, the Bucs have the tiebreaker with KSU based on a head-to-head victory; however, if the Owls win in fewer than five sets, they would take the tiebreaker advantage back from ETSU.
Saturday's match will be available via
ASun.TV.
