By: by Jason Hanes
Photo Gallery
KENNESAW, Ga. - On an electric Friday night at the KSU Convocation Center, Kennesaw State rallied after dropping the first set to defeat East Tennessee State, 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-15, 25-22) to take control of second place in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
"Our depth played a huge role in the win tonight," said KSU head coach Karen Weatherington following the match. "We had so many different options we were able to use, and once we got our passing game in order, Sara Metroka made our attackers shine with the balls she was setting."
The win gives the Owls (15-9, 7-1) a seven-match winning streak and the inside track to the No. 2 seed in the A-Sun Championships Nov. 18-20 in Ft. Myers, Fla. A win over USC Upstate Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. at the KSU Convocation Center on Senior Day would lock up at least the No. 2 seed for the Owls, as KSU now owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Bucs and Belmont, who are both tied for third in the A-Sun with a 6-2 conference mark.
The fourth and final set featured 16 ties and eight lead changes as neither team wanted to give an inch. With the Owls trailing 17-13, Sabrita Gulley took control, recording four straight kills to knot the score, 17-17. The teams swapped the next four points until the point of the night gave the Owls the upper hand. With Turea Jones serving, the two squads engaged in a point that lasted nearly a minute and featured 15 attacks and countless sprawling saves by the two squads. With much of the 517 fans standing by the end of the point, Holly Knight finally ended the rally with a solo block, giving the Owls a 20-19 lead and touching off an explosion of screams from the crowd.
ETSU (23-7, 6-2) would not go away quietly, scoring the next two points to regain the lead. Knight and Katie Winschel would get the Owls the serve back after a block, tying the score, 21-21. That would give the Owls a burst of momentum, as an attack error by the Bucs and a block by Baylee Strachan and Grace Hoyt gave KSU a, 23-21, lead. The teams swapped the next two points, with the Owls earning a match point opportunity after Hoyt's 11th and final kill of the match.
After an ETSU timeout, the final point would be a frantic joust at the net. Emily Bean's serve was passed back over the net, where Strachan attacked it. ETSU got the ball back up into the plane of the net with it falling onto KSU's side, when Metroka poked the ball back over the net. As the ball dropped down to the court on the ETSU side, most of the partisans joined the Owls in celebration as KSU had taken the match.
The first two sets played out somewhat similarly, as both sets were tied at the 22-22 mark. In the first set, the Bucs would score the final three points, taking the opener, 25-22. As a team, the Bucs had seven blocks in the first set.
The second set looked very similar in the end as well, except the home team got the final advantage. A Gulley kill gave the Owls a, 23-22, lead, and Hoyt pushed KSU back ahead by two with a kill of her own. On set point, it was KSU's front-line defense that stood tall, as Knight and Hoyt combined for a block to give the Owls the set, 25-22.
The third set was all Black and Gold, as KSU scored five of the first six points and never trailed. KSU scored 15 of the last 22 points of the set en route to the, 25-15, win.
The Owls committed just four attack errors in the final two sets, with three coming thanks to ETSU blocks. After being out-blocked 7-3 in the first set, the Owls out-blocked ETSU, 8-4, in the final three sets to finish the match tied in blocks, 11-11, against the top-ranked team in the A-Sun in blocking.
The Owls hit .204 for the match, with Gulley, Hoyt, Strachan and Metroka all hitting over .300 for the night. Metroka had 37 assists, falling a dig shy of a double-double. Knight had six kills, seven digs and a match-high seven total blocks. Camille Pedraza led all players with 19 digs.
ETSU had more kills and more digs than the Owls. However, the Bucs committed 10 service errors over the final two sets of the match. Megan Devine had 10 kills and 18 digs for ETSU, while Lauren Baufield converted a double-double of her own with 14 kills and 11 digs. Setter Whitney Cogburn had 44 assists, eight digs, six kills, and five total blocks.
