By: by Jason Hanes
Box Score
KENNESAW, Ga. - In front of the biggest crowd to ever see a volleyball match at the Kennesaw State Convocation Center, Sabrita Gulley led four attackers in double-figures in kills with 14 while freshman Sara Metroka had 46 assists to lift the Kennesaw State volleyball team to a, 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-21) win over Jacksonville in an Atlantic Sun Conference match.
"Sabrita has been carrying us offensively for a while, but we've known that we would need to have more support to keep the momentum going forward," said KSU head coach Karen Weatherington. "The re-emergence of Alyssa Lang and the solid performances by Grace Hoyt and Baylee Strachan really helped to lift us over the top against a very tough Jacksonville team."
A crowd of 586 persons saw the Owls drop the first set, 25-21, but rally back to win the next three. In set two, the Owls scored 11 of the first 15 points of the set and never looked back en route to a, 25-19, win.
The third and fourth sets would be much different, as both teams scrapped for every point they earned. With KSU down 21-19, the Owls went on a run to snatch the set away from the Dolphins. A Strachan kill was followed by an ace by Emily Bean to tie the set, 21-21. Lang dropped home an attack to give KSU the lead, 22-21. An attack error gave KSU the two-point lead, but the Dolphins came back to score the next point and end KSU's four-point spurt. With KSU still just two points away from the set, the Owls would seize the opportunity. A kill by Lang gave KSU set point, and Strachan and Gulley teamed on a block for the final point of the set, giving the Owls a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five.
The fourt set was tied, 18-18, when a JU attack error and a kill by Hoyt gave KSU the two-point edge. An Alyssa Robertson kill gave JU the next point, but KSU would again score the next two off kills by Lang and Hoyt. The teams swapped points again, but with the score 23-21, the Owls would not allow the Dolphins a crack at the scoreboard again. Back-to-back kills by Lang gave the junior 13 on the night and touched off a celebration as the Owls had topped the Dolphins for the first time in program history.
"Wins like this are milestone wins for our program," said coach Weatherington. "From our win at home over Belmont last year to coming back and beating Belmont in Nashville after being down two sets last weekend, to tonight's win; these are all wins that programs have to get in order to build. We're not done working by any stretch. We still have a long way to go, and we'll have a tough North Florida team in here tomorrow. But tonight's win is a win that will help all of our players grow and our program grow on the whole."
Brittany Lehman and Aidan Yeager led Jacksonville with 15 and 13 kills, respectively. Ashley August led all defenders with 23 digs, while Kathryn Kane had 18.
Freshman Camille Pedraza led the Owls with 14 digs, while Turea Jones notched 14 and Lang completed a double-double with 13 of her own.
The Owls will be back in action tomorrow afternoon at the KSU Convocation Center when they face North Florida in a key A-Sun match. First serve on "Dig Pink" Day is set for 3 p.m., with the first 500 fans in attendance receiving a pink KSU drawstring bag.
