By: by Jason Hanes
Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio -
Asjia Stokes led all players with 14 kills, five digs and five total blocks, helping Kennesaw State volleyball achieve its first 2-0 start in program history with a 3-1 (25-22, 25-18, 21-25, 25-22) win over Bryant (0-2) on Saturday afternoon in the fourth match of the Staybridge Suites Rocket Classic hosted by the University of Toledo.
"Asjia was phenomenal in the clutch," said KSU head coach
Karen Weatherington. "She stepped up right when we needed and just gave a tremendous performance."
After the Bulldogs took the third set, the fourth set, which featured 13 ties and five lead changes, saw Bryant take advantage of KSU miscues to open a 6-3 lead. KSU came back to cut the lead to one, 8-7, after a kill by Frederick, but after two straight Bryant points, Coach Weatherington asked for time with the Owls down three, 10-7.
KSU won the first point off the timeout, and two points later, a block by
Chanel Davis and
Chelsey Denesha cut the lead to one, 11-10. An attack error by Bryant gave the Owls a tie, but Bryant won the next two points to regain the two-point lead, 13-11. Davis and Denesha helped the Owls tie the score again with back-to-back kills, and after a Bryant attack error, the Owls had a 14-13 lead and the Bulldogs asked for time.
Bryant tied the score off the timeout, and the teams swapped points. Bryant regained the lead after an Owls miscue, but a Bulldogs blocking error tied the set, 16-all. A kill put KSU back up 17-16, and the momentum built after a Bryant attack error gave KSU an 18-16 lead. The run was stopped after a Bryant kill and a KSU attack error evened the score, 18-all. Five points later, a Bryant block gave the Bulldogs the 21-20 lead and sent KSU into a timeout.
The Owls tied the set 21-21 on a
Sabrita Gulley kill off the timeout, and the teams swapped points. KSU regained the lead again when Stokes hammered home a kill, making the score 23-22 and forcing Bryant to call its final timeout of the set.
Stokes continued to come up big off the timeout, getting KSU a match point chance with a kill. The senior continued to shine on the final point, teaming with Davis to get a block to give the Owls a 25-22 win in the set and 3-1 win in the match.
Bryant came out strong, taking five of the first six points of the match before an Stokes kill helped to slow the momentum. Stokes teamed with
Holly Knight for a block, then dropped a kill in on the line to bring KSU within a point. After a Bryant attack error, the Owls had tied the set, 5-all. The Bulldogs would go on a quick spurt, scoring three straight points to expand the lead up to three again.
The Owls scratched back, getting kills from Knight, Stokes, and Denesha to tie the score at 8-all. Three points later, the Owls took their first lead of the match when an attack error gave KSU a 10-9 edge.
Ginny Frederick padded the lead with a kill, then a back-row kill by Denesha gave the Owls a 12-9 lead and sent Bryant into a timeout.
KSU won the timeout when Gulley earned a kill. Gulley helped the Owls extend the lead with a kill that made the score 15-10. The teams swapped points until a block pulled Bryant within three, 17-14. Stokes pushed the lead back to four with a kill, and a service ace by Selina O'Leary restored a five-point margin. The lead stretched to six with a Bryant miscue, but the Bulldogs cut the lead to four, 21-17, after a kill. Three points later, a kill by Gulley sent Bryant into its last timeout of the set trailing 23-18.
Bryant rallied off the timeout, scoring four straight points to cut the deficit to one. A service error by the Bulldogs gave the Owls two cracks at set point, ahead 24-22. One try would be all the Owls would need, as an attack error gave the Black and Gold the win in the opening set, 25-22.
The Bulldogs came out strong again, scoring three of the first four points to take the early advantage. The Owls rallied again quickly, taking a 5-4 lead with four consecutive points, forcing Bryant to take an early timeout.
The Owls kept the run going with an attack error by the opponents. After in trading points with the Bulldogs, an ace by Stokes gave KSU an 8-5 lead. The lead went to four after a block by Frederick and Davis made the score 10-6.
"Chanel was solid with five blocks, coming in after not starting game one," Coach Weatherington said. "She has worked all preseason and slipped right in and clicked for us."
Five points later, a service ace by
Rachael Albright sent the lead to five for KSU, 13-8. Bryant rallied to cut the lead to two, 13-11, but the Owls stretched the lead back to five after another O'Leary ace. The Owls pushed the lead to six after a Bryant error made the score 18-12, and three points later, Knight and Stokes teamed for a block to give KSU a 20-13 lead. Feeling the rhythm, Stokes drilled an attack into the center of the Bryant court, giving KSU its largest lead of the set, 21-13.
The Bulldogs rallied, scoring the next three points to cut the deficit to five, 21-16, but the Owls kept fighting towards the 25th point. After a block by Gulley gave the Owls a set point opportunity at 24-18, the Owls had six set points in hand. One would be all KSU would need as a Bryant attack error gave KSU the second set, 25-18.
The third set began with Bryant jumping out to a 9-5 lead before Coach Weatherington asked for her first timeout of the match. The Owls began to chip away at the lead, getting a kill from Davis to cut the lead to two, 10-8, but Bryant would push the lead to five, 15-10, after a KSU attack error. From there, the Owls scored three straight points, with a Bryant attack error ending the spurt and forcing the Bulldogs to call timeout ahead 15-13.
The teams swapped points off the timeout, but the Owls cut the lead to one after a Bryant attack error dropped the deficit to one, 16-15. Bryant scored the next two points, but a Stokes kill got the serve back on KSU's side down by two, 18-16. Stokes took advantage, getting a service ace to trim the lead to one. But this time, the Owls couldn't complete the comeback as Bryant stretched the lead to six, 24-18. KSU fought off three set points before the Bulldogs scored the final point of the set, pulling closer with a 25-21 win.
"We needed to be tested. Bryant is a scrappy, tough team that gave us a great fight," Coach Weatherington added. "We're looking forward to playing in the championship match tonight against a very solid Toledo squad."
The Owls will face Toledo tonight at 7 p.m. in the final match of the tournament. The Rockets defeated Marist 3-0 to move to 2-0 on the season after sweeping Bryant Friday night.
