By: by Jason Hanes
KENNESAW, Ga. - Kennesaw State's volleyball team will face a stiff test Friday night at the KSU Convocation Center when the Owls face Alabama A&M at 7 p.m.
The Owls (6-8) are 2-2 at home this season after splitting four matches at the 2010 Owls Invitational last weekend. The Owls swept Presbyterian and Troy but fell, 3-1 and 3-0, to Coastal Carolina and Ohio State. Friday night's contest will mark the end of a five-match homestand, the longest of the season for Kennesaw State.
Alabama A&M (6-6) has won the Southwestern Athletic Conference in nine out of the last 10 seasons. That championship pedigree is something that has the attention of KSU head coach Karen Weatherington.
"Alabama A&M is going to be a very difficult team for us to face," said coach Weatherington. "While we defeated them last season, it was in five tough sets with a 17-15 score in the fifth set. This year, they have played some very well-respected programs like Georgia Tech and Indiana and have fought hard, even though the result hasn't been there. While we want to defend our home court to the best of our abilities, make no mistake that this will be one of the toughest opponents that we face in the Convocation Center this year."
Sabrita Gulley's 3.89 kills per set lead the way for the Owls offensively. Last weekend, Gulley reached a special milestone in the life of the KSU program when she recorded her 1,000th career kill, becoming the first player in program history to reach that mark.
Both KSU and Alabama A&M are relatively even along the back line defensively. The Owls are out-digging A&M by a fraction of a dig (14.76 to 14.46). Freshman Camille Pedraza leads the Owls in digs per set at 3.23, while Rose Cornielle leads A&M with a 4.59 digs per set average.
On Saturday, the Owls will host a fundraiser in conjunction with Platinum Championship Wrestling entitled "Sacred Ground: Chapter One". Proceeds from ticket sales will go to benefit the Owls volleyball program. To purchase tickets, click
here.
Next Friday, the Owls will finally begin Atlantic Sun Conference play when they face Belmont in Nashville. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m CDT.
