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MACON, Ga. – With a 3-0 (21-25, 16-25, 28-30) loss at in-state rival Mercer, the Kennesaw State volleyball team’s season came to an end on Thursday night, wrapping up the year with a 16-17 record overall and a 5-13 mark in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
“I credit a scrappy Mercer team and a raucous crowd,” said Kennesaw State head coach
Karen Weatherington. “They really got into it and disrupted our offensive flow, but I’m so proud of my team for the maturity we showed in the game. Every team in the conference is fighting hard for every point and tonight, we did just that.”
The Owls and the Bears battled back-and-forth for the lead in the opening set, with neither team grabbing more than a two point advantage. With the score tied up at 20, it was Mercer who took the set, going on a 5-1 run to end things 25-21.
After a 1-0 lead in the early goings, the Bears quickly took control of the set, scoring the next five points to go up 6-1.
Baylee Strachan (Sioux City, Iowa/Winthrop) put the Owls back within five on two separate occasions, but the Bear offense proved strong, giving the home team a 2-0 match advantage with the 25-16 set win.
Turea Jones (Santa Rosa, Calif./Santa Rosa JC) and
Emily Bean (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike HS) gave the Owls an early lead in the third set at 3-2 with a timely block assists. The Bears then pulled away with a three point lead, but KSU fought back, scoring four straight points to regain the lead on a Mercer service error at 20-19. The teams then exchanged points until the game reached 28-28, when the Bears clipped off two straight to win the match, and the extended set, 30-28.
“I have to credit Sara Metroka,” said Weatherington. “She led us tonight as she’s done all season long and tonight she set an exceptional match for our hitters.”
Strachan and
Keyaira Stevenson (Columbia, S.C./Ridgeview HS) finished with nine kills each to lead the Owl offense with Jones adding in seven of her own.
Setter
Sara Metroka (New Castle, Ind./New Castle Chrysler HS) chipped in with a season high eight kills to go along with her 29 assists during the loss while libero
Camille Pedraza (Marietta, Ga./Kell HS) reached the 500 dig plateau for the season, coming up with 19 to give the junior 513 total.
The two seniors playing in their final match, Jones and Strachan, combined for six total blocks as Jones came up with 18 digs as well.
To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State volleyball news as the Owls begin to prepare for the 2013 season, 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.
