By: by KSU Sports Information
Box Score
KENNESAW, Ga. - Senior Alyssa Lang's 13th and final kill of the match gave her 1,000 for her career as the Kennesaw State volleyball team rolled past Florida Gulf Coast, 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-18), in Atlantic Sun Conference action at the KSU Convocation Center Saturday afternoon.
"Alyssa has just a phenomenal talent who will do whatever it takes to help her team win," said KSU head coach Karen Weatherington, who saw her team improve to 9-12 overall and 4-2 in A-Sun matches. "She was all over the court today, leading us in kills and digs, and just keeping us working as a unit on the court all in an effort to beat a tough FGCU squad."
While Lang's 13 kills were impressive, equally so were her 18 digs, another match-high. Sophomore libero Camille Pedraza added 14 as the Owls had six more digs as a team than the Eagles, 42-36.
KSU's service game kept the Eagles (9-8, 4-1 A-Sun) off-balance all day, and the front-row defense forced the Eagles into attacks that typically went for hitting errors or were dug up in the back row. As a unit, the Owls had nine total blocks, with Emily Bean and Holly Knight each coming away with five. For Bean, the five blocks were a new career high.
The early stages of the match didn't favor KSU as the Owls trailed the first set, 19-14. Instead of allowing the Eagles to close out the frame, the Owls rose to the occasion to snatch the set away. A kill by Justine Young set up Baylee Strachan on the service line. The junior connected for back-to-back aces to pull KSU within a pair and force FGCU into a timeout ahead, 19-17. An attack error by the Eagles gave KSU point 18, but the Owls handed the Eagles their 20th point of the set with an error. That would prove to be the final point the visitors would earn in the set. Consecutive kills by Young evened the set, 20-all, and a block by Bean and Knight pushed KSU into a one-point advantage. Young would send FGCU into its second timeout of the opening set with her fifth kill of the frame.
Off the timeout, the Owls stayed composed and let FGCU continue to make errors. Three straight miscues on the attack by the visitors gave the Owls the opening set, 25-20.
The Eagles scored four of the first five points in set two, but the Owls answered with the next eight in a row to take the lead for good. A Strachan kill started the run, with a pair of errors by the Eagles ending the spurt for the Owls. The lead would get as high as nine as a Lang kill pushed KSU ahead, 20-11. While the Eagles would get the lead back down to six, the Owls would close out the set with a block by Knight and Bean for a 25-16 final.
The Owls led for the duration of the final set. Bean nearly staked the Owls to a 4-0 lead by herself, racking up a pair of kills and a service ace to give KSU the advantage. FGCU would only get as close as two the rest of the way.
With the score 23-18, Lang reached her personal milestone. After a perfect pass by Pedraza on the serve, Sara Metroka's 34th assist of the match came on Lang's 1,000th career kill as the senior dropped the ball to the court off the FGCU block. With six match points in hand, the Owls would close the Eagles out quickly. After a lengthy rally, FGCU's final attack of the match was blocked back by Strachan, and when the attempt to cover the play ended with the ball landing out of bounds, Strachan had credit for a solo block and the Owls had the victory, 25-18.
Young had but one attack error in 27 swings for a .444 attack percentage as she joined Lang with a match-high 13 kills. Metroka's 34 assists enabled the sophomore setter to finish the weekend averaging 11.67 per set in KSU's two wins. As a team, the Owls hit .297 compared to just .020 for the Eagles.
After a week off, the Owls will return to action Oct. 21 in Spartanburg S.C., as they take on USC Upstate. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
