By: by KSU Sports Information
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KENNESAW, Ga. - Alyssa Lang had her third straight double-double with 16 kills and 15 digs as the Kennesaw State volleyball team came back from an early hole to defeat Chattanooga, 3-1 (21-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-17) in the third match of the 2011 Owls Invitational at the KSU Convocation Center.
"We had solid performances from everyone that stepped on the court today," said KSU head coach Karen Weatherington. "While the start wasn't what we wanted, we came together well and performed at a level to get a victory over a scrappy Chattanooga team."
The Owls (3-3) earned their third straight victory of the season behind solid performances from almost the entire roster. While Lang led the Owls in kills, Chadé Martin had six kills for a .600 attack percentage and Keyaira Stevenson had six kills in the fourth set.
"Chadé and Keyaira both provided great lifts for us," said Coach Weatherington. "It is a good feeling to know that when called on, we have players ready to step in and contribute."
The first set proved to be a comedy of serving game errors for the Owls. Kennesaw State committed six service errors and were charged with six serve reception errors. While the Owls had just one attack error in the set, Chattanooga had 11 kills to KSU's six en route to the 25-21 win.
The Owls came to life in the second set. Lang and Justine Young each had four kills in the set, as KSU used a 6-0 run to break a 13-13 tie and take control of the set. With seven set points in hand after a kill by Holly Knight, a solo block by Emily Bean gave KSU the win, 25-17.
In set three, the Owls jumped out to a six-point advantage, then held off a late Chattanooga rally for the win. A Lang kill gave KSU a 21-15 lead, but the Mocs came back to cut the KSU lead all the way down to one, 24-23. After four straight set points were fought off by the Mocs, Young finished off the set on the fifth try to give KSU the, 25-23, win.
The last set was tight, as KSU led just 18-17 after a KSU attack error. That would be the last point the Owls would allow, as a 7-0 run closed out the visitors. Martin sparked the run with a thunderous kill, and the momentum was all on the side of the Black and Gold the rest of the way. Lang had three kills during the run, including the final kill of the match, as the Owls won, 25-17.
Camille Pedraza had 21 digs on the morning, giving her 47 for the tournament through two matches. Sara Metroka had 46 assists, with 41 coming in the final three sets. Bean and Knight each had three total blocks for the Owls, who out-blocked the Mocs 8.0-2.0.
Three Mocs were in double-figures in kills, led by Jennifer Kurosi's 14. Ellie Kuhn had 11 for the visitors, while Christina Teter also had 11.
The Owls will be back in action at 7 p.m. against Oral Roberts. The Golden Eagles (3-3) came from two sets down to defeat Winthrop, 3-2, in the day's second match.
