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STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Kennesaw State volleyball team had no trouble in defeating Louisiana-Monroe in the season opener for both teams in the Mississippi State Maroon Classic, taking down the Warhawks 3-1 (25-22, 25-15, 22-25, 25-12).
The Owls move to 1-0 on the young season and drop Sunbelt Conference opponent ULM to 0-1.
“It was a good win and I was happy to see so many people contribute,” said Kennesaw State head coach Karen Weatherington of her team’s first match. “We have a lot of depth and we’re a very exciting team to watch. It was good to get the first win under our belt and we’ll continue to grow as a team.”
In the decisive fourth set it was KSU who came out on top, 25-12, blasting off to a 5-1 lead on a pair of Louisiana-Monroe attack errors. Freshman Jenna Wilt (Woodstock, Ga. Etowah High School), in her first collegiate contest, came up with the big kill early on in the set, putting her team up 10-3. The Owls then cruised as the match came to an end on a ULM service error.
The Owls took the opening set over the Warhawks, 25-22, after going up 2-0 in the early goings on a pair of ULM attack errors. ULM battled back, picking up its biggest lead of the set at 7-5 on a Samantha Morse kill. A 5-0 run late in the set then put the Owls up for good before an Emily Bean (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike High School) kill and another ULM attack error put the Owls up in the match, 1-0.
The second set was all KSU as the Owls led the entire way, pulling ahead to a 9-5 lead with a Baylee Strachan (Sioux City, Iowa/Winthrop) kill. Back-to-back kills by Bean and Turea Jones (Santa Rosa, Calif./Santa Rosa JC) then put the Owls up 14-9 with teammate Sara Metroka (New Castle, Ind./New Castle Chrysler High School) giving the Owls their biggest lead of the set at 24-14 shortly thereafter. The Owls would again win the set on a ULM error, 25-15.
The Owls couldn’t catch up in set three, falling behind early as ULM took its first set of the match. Kennesaw State managed to tie it up at four, but it was short lived as the Warhawks quickly took the set, 25-22.
“Defensively I think we played well and made some smart choices,” added Weatherington. “We need to do a better job of executing our offense but that will all come in time.”
The Owls were led by Jones who came through with 16 kills and 23 digs en route to her first double-double of the season. Bean was right behind with 13 kills while Strachan added 12 and Wilt was good for 10.
Atlantic Sun Conference Preseason Libero of the Year Camille Pedraza (Marietta, Ga./Kell High School) led both teams with her 26 digs while Metroka put up 47 assists.
Next up on the docket for the Owls are a pair of games on Saturday. The first against Jackson State at 11 a.m. and the second against the host team Mississippi State at 8 p.m.
To keep up with the latest KSU volleyball news, follow the team on Twitter @KSUOWLSVB.
