By: by KSU Sports Information
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - Justine Young led all attackers with 12 kills with sophomore libero Camille Pedraza adding a match-high 18 digs as the Kennesaw State volleyball team swept East Tennessee State, 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-18), Saturday afternoon in Atlantic Sun Conference action at Brooks Gym.
"When you get a team that follows the game plan exactly as its laid out for them, good things will happen," said KSU head coach Karen Weatherington. "Justine was solid again and Baylee Strachan just keeps improving on a nightly basis. We're very happy to come out of here with a victory over a well-coached team in ETSU."
The Owls (11-12, 6-2) gave up the first three points of the opening set, but only allowed 10 the rest of the way en route to a 12-point win to start the match. The Owls had a balanced effort in the opening set, with five players getting at least two kills, led by Young's three.
Pedraza put on a defensive tour de force the rest of the match, starting with her eight digs in set two. Still, in a set that featured nine ties and four lead changes, it was the Bucs (11-14, 4-5) that held a, 21-20, advantage late. Alyssa Lang's third kill of the set tied the set up for the final time at 21-all and Holly Knight stepped back to the service line. The senior responded with a big ace to put KSU ahead by a point and send ETSU into a timeout.
The Owls had ETSU scouted perfectly after the stoppage. Megan Devine's swing was blocked by Lang and Strachan for a big momentum point to push the lead to two. After a Bucs attack error gave the Owls three set point tries, Lang closed the set out with her fourth kill of the frame to give the Owls a, 25-21, win.
The teams traded points in the opening stages of the third set, but soon a surge by the Owls found the Black and Gold ahead by five, 12-7. Leading 16-11, a Strachan kill and back-to-back successful attacks by Young pushed the lead up to eight, 19-11. Soon, the Owls would have seven cracks at match point, and on the second try, the match was over. Holly Knight's final swing of the match bounced high off the ETSU block and down beyond the home team's sideline, giving KSU the, 25-18, win in the final set.
Sara Metroka had 37 assists for KSU, including 28 in the final two sets. Lang had seven kills and 12 digs, bringing her within two digs of 1,000 for her career. Emily Bean had six hills and tied with Rachael Albright for match-high honors in aces with two.
Devine had eight kills to lead ETSU's attack, but had just one in the final set.
The Owls will be back in action Friday night, once again facing the Bucs. This time, the match will take place on the KSU campus at the Convocation Center. Match time is set for 7 p.m.
