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Spartanburg, S.C. – After traveling 1,410 miles in the last seven days, the Kennesaw State volleyball team dropped its final match of a four game road trip, getting downed in straight sets, 3-0 (18-25, 15-25, 23-25) at USC Upstate.
“Upstate was just well prepared and they pulled out all the stops,” said Kennesaw State head coach
Karen Weatherington. “They did a good job of limiting Baylee (Strachan) and that put a strain on our offense. I was very happy with our effort and composure especially when the ball just wasn’t falling our way.”
Upstate (7-12, 2-5 Atlantic Sun) managed to hold KSU (15-8, 4-4 A-Sun) to just a .054 attack percentage, below the Owls season average of .215, while handing the black and gold its first road loss of the season.
The Owls nearly came back in the decisive third set, tying the match at 22 in an attempt to send the match to a fourth set. Upstate fired back, however, scoring three points out of the last four to win it, 25-23. Senior
Baylee Strachan (Sioux City, Iowa/Winthrop) picked up four of her six total kills in the final set in seven attempts.
Kennesaw State matched the Spartans early in the second set, going point-for-point with Upstate to the 4-4 mark. A 4-1 run bolstered the home team to a 13-8 lead before scoring five straight to take it, 25-15.
After falling behind 9-3 to Upstate in the first, the Owls battled back, cutting the Spartan lead to 12-8 with kills by
Emily Bean (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike HS),
Cierra Royster (Mableton, Ga./Cumberland Christian HS) and
Keyaira Stevenson (Columbia, S.C./Ridgeview HS). Despite three straight points with a pair of Strachan service aces, the Spartans came away with the 25-18 opening set win.
Strachan had another standout game, hitting .417 with six kills, two aces and two blocks. Stevenson led the Owls in kills for the second straight game, walking away with nine after her 20 kill performance against North Florida.
The Owls out-blocked their opponent, 7-5, and were led by Bean’s one solo block and three block assists. Royster had four block assists while setter
Sara Metroka (New Castle, Ind./New Castle Chrystler HS) had two to go with her 27 assists.
Libero
Camille Pedraza (Marietta, Ga./Kell HS) led the team with 15 digs with
Turea Jones (Santa Rosa, Calif./Santa Rosa JC) right behind with 14.
“It was good to go 3-1 on the road, but I’m happy to go home,” said Weatherington of the last four matches. “It’s going to be a great atmosphere Saturday with Mercer coming to town and I’m excited to get back on our home floor.”
The Owls will host in-state rival Mercer this Saturday at 3 p.m.
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
ETSU 3, Mercer 1
