By: by Jason Hanes
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KENNESAW, Ga. - In a stuggle of wills over the last four sets, Kennesaw State pulled out a gritty, 3-2 (25-18, 27-25, 28-30, 24-26, 17-15) win over Alabama A&M in the home opener for the Owls as part of the Great 8 Volleyball Challenge Presented by Residence Inn - Kennesaw.
"Alabama A&M won their conference last year. They are a phenomenal, seasoned team that has that championship mentality," said KSU head coach
Karen Weatherington. "We really responded to a great challenge tonight."
If not for being forced to end in five sets, there is a chance the teams would still be playing now given the even nature of the final four frames of the match. Each of the last four sets went past the prescribed final ending point, with both teams leaving it all on the court.
Chelsey Denesha recorded a double-double for the Owls with 20 kills and 14 digs, while
Sabrita Gulley tied a KSU record with 22 digs while adding 11 kills for her own double-double.
The Owls (3-1) led 6-3 in the last frame before Alabama A&M (0-5) came back to take a 9-8 lead. The teams battled for the remained of the set much like they did the entire match, as the finale featured 13 ties and three lead changes. Trailing, KSU scored points on consecutive kills by Denesha and Gulley, and the Owls would never trail again. After a Bulldogs kill,
Rachael Albright dumped the ball over the net for a kill to give KSU an 11-10 edge. After an A&M kill, a service error handed KSU back the lead, 12-11. KSU couldn't take advantage as an attack error knotted the score at a dozen points a piece. The Owls took a 13-12 lead on Denesha's 20th and final kill of the match, and the Bulldogs asked for their final timeout down one.
A&M won the timeout with a kill to knot the score, but
Asjia Stokes throttled home a kill to give KSU match point. The Owls couldn't convert as a kill by A&M sent the match into overtime with a 14-14 tie. Another match point was coming to KSU as Gulley hammered home a kill, but a service error tied the game again, 15-all.
The match came down to a miscue by the Bulldogs and a solid serve by the home team. A bad set by A&M gave KSU its third match point of the set. This time, KSU would convert, as Albright's tough serve went off the arms of the A&M receiver and fell to the floor after a scramble. The ball's bouncing on the floor touched off a celebration among the Owls and most of the 346 partisans in the Convocation Center, as the Owls came through with the victory.
After rolling to a 25-18 win in the first set, the Owls were in a fight for the rest of the match. KSU faced set point in the second set down 24-22, but two A&M attack errors extended the set to a 24-24 tie. An attack error by the Owls gave A&M another set point, but a kill by Stokes sent the match into a 25-25 tie. One point later, a Denesha kill gave KSU set point, 26-25. After an A&M timeout, the Owls won the second set after a Bulldogs attack error, 27-25.
The Owls had a chance to close out the match in three sets, but the Bulldogs did not go gently into that good night. KSU fought off a set point at 24-23, but a service error gave the Bulldogs another opportunity. Stokes and
Holly Knight had back-to-back kills to give KSU its first match point chance ahead 26-25, but a kill and a block by A&M gave the Bulldogs set point, 27-26.
Ginny Frederick and
Callie Churchwell recorded consecutive kills for the Owls to give KSU another match point, 28-27, but the Bulldogs would rattle off three straight points, taking the third set 30-28.
KSU trailed for most of the fourth set, but rallied back to tie the score at 22-all following a Stokes kill. An A&M kill by Medinah Abdullah, who led A&M with 17 kills, gave the Bulldogs a 23-22 lead and sent the Owls into a timeout. A service error gave KSU its 23rd point off the 75-second break, but an Abdullah kill gave the Bulldogs set point at 24-23. Stokes negated that chance for A&M with a kill, but the Bulldogs would score the final two points of the set to take a 26-24 win and force the deciding set.
"A&M definitely made some adjustments after the first set," said Coach Weathrington. "They made changes to whom they were giving the ball, and they started finding better match-ups. If not for Chelsey and Asjia, we don't pull this match out."
Selina O'Leary had 18 digs for the Owls while
Eman Burns had 12.
Clarissa Moore had 14 kills for A&M while Natalie Rodriguez completed a double-double with 45 assists and 11 digs.
KSU will have less than 12 hours to recover before tomorrow's first match of the day at the Great 8 Volleyball Challenge as the Owls will take on Rider. First serve is set for 9 a.m.
