By: by Jason Hanes
MACON, Ga. - When the 2010 Atlantic Sun Conference schedule came out, Kennesaw State's volleyball team was dealt just four home matches and six road matches in A-Sun play for the year.
With the deck stacked from the start, a 9-1 mark in A-Sun play went a long way towards helping the Owls achieve their goals.
Sabrita Gulley had 21 kills and Sara Metroka had 51 assists and a career-best 15 digs as the Kennesaw State volleyball team rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Mercer, 3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-13, 15-10), on Saturday night at the University Center.
"I'm just so emotional right now because of what this team has gone through to get to this point," said KSU head coach Karen Weatherington after her team won its 17th match of the season. "This team just wants to win so badly. To see them get this win tonight is just a testament to the hard work they have gone through to get to this point."
The match was a battle much like the Owls will see at next week's A-Sun Championships next week in Ft. Myers, Fla. Mercer (14-17, 6-4) came out playing inspired volleyball on its Senior Day, scoring six of the last eight points in the first set to take the win, 25-21. The next set appeared to be heading towards a similar conclusion as the teams were tied, 21-21. However, a kill by Katie Winschel and three straight Mercer errors gave the Owls the second set, 25-21.
The third set featured 12 ties and five lead changes, with Mercer holding set point, 24-23. A kill by Ceci Mattei helped the Owls fight off that set point, but Mercer would take the next two points to take the set, 26-24.
Dropping the third set seemed to motivate the Owls, as with the score knotted 11-all, the Owls scored 14 of the next 16 points to take the set. Alyssa Lang had five kills and six digs in that set, while Mercer hit -.054 as a team.
In the finale, the Owls broke a 3-3 tie with three straight points and never looked back. Consecutive errors by the Bears and a kill by Grace Hoyt sent the Bears into their first timeout of the final frame. With the score 10-7, Gulley and Mercer's Krista Hurley traded the next four points with kills, keeping the Owls' lead at three. A kill by hoyt was matched by Jamie Duffy, but Hoyt's eighth and final kill of the match gave the Owls match point, 14-10. One try would be all the Owls needed as Lang connected for her 11th kill of the match to give the Owls the win, 15-10, in the decisive set.
Lang completed her 10th double-double of the season by adding 10 digs to her stat sheet. Emily Bean had a career-high 14 digs, while Camille Pedraza had 16 and Turea Jones had 11.
Hurley led Mercer with 15 kills, while Amiee Frutchey connected for a double-double with 14 kills and 22 digs. Charlotte Harris had 33 digs to lead all defenders.
The Owls will now be idle until Friday when they face the winner of the East Tennessee State/North Florida match in the semifinals of the A-Sun Championships. Match time has yet to be announced.
