By: by Jason Hanes
Box Score
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Grace Hoyt had a career-high eight kills and Alyssa Lang had a double-double with 15 kills and 11 digs as the Kennesaw State volleyball team defeated Gardner-Webb, 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-16), at the Runnin' Bulldog Classic hosted by GWU.
"We got our game back on track today," said head coach Karen Weatherington. "We've been playing some tough competiton, but it's been important for us to keep our confidence high. We got great contributions from everyone on the court today. I'm so happy for this team to get the win."
The Owls (3-6) slowly built leads in each set, relying on different aspects of the game in each set to grab the advantage. In the first set, the Owls used five blocks from the front-line defense, including three solo blocks by Holly Knight, to take the win, 25-18. In the second set, it was the service game that lifted the Owls. KSU had five service aces and did not commit an error on the serve. Six kills by Lang in the set helped spark the Owls to a 25-16 win.
In the finale, the Owls used solid defense again, coupled with a .355 attack percentage, to take the match. Lang had seven kills in the final set, hitting .600 along th eway. Freshman Camille Pedraza had six of her match-high 17 digs in the final set as the Owls put away Gardner-Webb, a former Atlantic Sun Conference member.
"I'm really happy for Camille to put up the numbers she did today," coach Weatherington said. "I really wanted a local player to do well for us, and Camille has earned that starting libero job and doesn't plan on letting it go anytime soon."
Six players had kills for the Owls, as Lang's 15 were followed by Gulley's nine, Hoyt's eight, Baylee Strachan's eight (.727 attack percentage), Knight's four, and Sara Metroka's two. Metroka also had 38 assists in the victory.
The Owls will be back in action this afternoon at 5 p.m. when they face Wofford to wrap up play at the Runnin' Bulldog Classic.
