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KENNESAW, Ga. – Despite a valiant comeback effort in the third set, the Kennesaw State volleyball team was again bested on its home floor, this time losing in three to East Tennessee State, 3-0 (19-25, 22-25, 22-25).
The loss puts the Owls two games below .500 in the Atlantic Sun at 4-6, 15-10 overall, through the first half of conference play.
“We’re knotted right in the middle of the pack,” said Kennesaw State head coach
Karen Weatherington. “We knew it would be a slugfest every night in this league and that’s what it is. We’re 4-6 with a young team at the turn and we’re in a good place in the chase for the conference tournament.”
KSU struggled out of the gate, falling back 6-1 in the opening set after
Keyaira Stevenson (Columbia, S.C./Ridgeview HS) put up the first kill of the match. The Owls climbed back within one point at the 17-16 mark on three straight ETSU (16-8, 7-3 A-Sun) errors, but the Buccaneers earned the last four points of the set to take a 25-19 win.
Three attack errors by ETSU put the Owls up late in the second set at 18-15, but six straight points from the Buccaneers nudged the visitors to a 21-18 advantage. A KSU service error then gave ETSU a 2-0 edge in the match with a 25-22 set win.
After a back-and-forth third set, Kennesaw State came out on top at the midway point, 12-10, with a kill from junior
Emily Bean (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike HS). Five straight points then put the Bucs up, 15-12, but the Owls wouldn’t go away quietly, rallying to comeback within two points at 24-22. ETSU then picked up the match winner from Bethany Gesell, 25-22.
“Our girls were very resilient in that third set,” said Weatherington. “We have a lot of young players that are turning into leaders and I was happy to see Emily (Bean) step up as well as Camille (Pedraza) have another great game.”
Bean was good for four block assists as well as four kills while libero
Camille Pedraza (Marietta, Ga./Kell HS) had 10 digs.
Offensively, seniors
Turea Jones (Santa Rosa, Calif./Santa Rosa JC) and
Baylee Strachan (Sioux City, Iowa/Winthrop) each had eight kills to lead the attack with Stevenson slamming home seven. Strachan also earned four blocks and the lone KSU service ace for the match.
The Owls will be back on the road this weekend, traveling to DeLand, Fla. for a Friday night match with Stetson before a Saturday night contest with Florida Gulf Coast.
To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State volleyball news follow the team on Twitter
@KSUOwlNation and
@KSUOwlsVB or by liking Kennesaw State University Volleyball on Facebook.
Kennesaw State University is celebrating 30 years of intercollegiate athletics during the 2012-13 academic year.
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USC Upstate 3, Mercer 0
