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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sophomore
Keyaira Stevenson tied a career high with 20 kills as she led the Kennesaw State volleyball team to a straight set, 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-18), win over Atlantic Sun Conference foe North Florida on Saturday afternoon.
Stevenson (Columbia, S.C./Ridgeview HS) set a career high with a .567 attack percentage as KSU, now 15-7 overall and 4-3 in the A-Sun, hit .314 as a team.
“Keyaira plays and practices so hard every day,” said Kennesaw State head coach
Karen Weatherington. “It was good to see her come into her own here today and play at the level that she works at and that we know she’s capable of”
Kennesaw State started the match off with a bang, wasting no time taking an 8-1 lead over North Florida (10-9, 2-5 A-Sun) with four Stevenson kills. The Ospreys rattled off three points late to make it 23-20, but the Owls picked up a kill from
Emily Bean (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike HS) to take the set, 25-20.
In a close second set, the Owls fell behind by three points midway through, 16-13. KSU then scored four points with two kills each by Stevenson and
Baylee Strachan (Sioux City, Iowa/Winthrop) to tie the set up at 21. The black and gold then scored the final three points to end the extended set, 26-24, on a Strachan service ace.
The Owls again swung out to a big lead to start off the third set, going up 6-1 with two Stevenson kills. The Ospreys came within two points at 9-7, but a 9-2 run from the Owls put the match out of reach as KSU cruised to a 25-18 set win.
KSU had three players in double-digit kills including Stevenson with her 20, Strachan with 11 and
Turea Jones (Santa Rosa, Calif./Santa Rosa JC) with 10. Strachan continues her impressive run in conference play with a .389 attack percentage, giving the senior a .395 average in conference matches only this season.
“They keyed in on Turea, like everyone has been doing in conference play,” added Weatherington. “But we did a good job of balancing the game out with our three other attackers. Our biggest stat was hitting so well as a team and that helped us get a quality win on the road.”
Jones made it eight double-doubles for the season as she had a match high 21 digs while libero
Camille Pedraza (Marietta, Ga./Kell HS) had 16.
Setter Sara Metroka put up 44 assists with six digs during the win as well.
The Owls will be back on the road this Tuesday as they head to Spartanburg, S.C. for a midweek match with USC Upstate. KSU will then return home on Saturday as they host in-state rival Mercer.
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.
Around the A-Sun
Florida Gulf Coast 3, Stetson 0
Northern Kentucky 3, USC Upstate 1
Jacksonvillle 3, Mercer 2
Lipscomb 3, Eastern Tennessee 1
