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KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State volleyball team gave Florida Gulf Coast all it could handle at the KSU Convocation Center Friday night, but the Eagles prevailed in three sets, 3-0 (18-25, 23-25, 21-25), to hand the Owls their first loss in Atlantic Sun Competition.
The Owls, now 11-5 on the year and 1-1 in the A-Sun, will host Stetson, who sits at 3-14 overall and 0-1 in the A-Sun after dropping a Friday night match to Mercer, tomorrow at 3 p.m.
“We ran into a very prepared FGCU team tonight,” said Kennesaw State head coach
Karen Weatherington. “They set their blocks up to our outside and they challenged us. They played us well and served us tough, it was a great strategy. Tonight was just their night.”
Emily Bean (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike HS) and teammate
Baylee Strachan (Sioux City, Iowa/Winthrop) led the way for KSU, each earning 10 kills with Bean hitting .450 for the match and Strachan right behind with a .421 attack percentage. The two also combined for four of the Owls’ seven blocks.
The Owls led in the early goings of the opening set, 4-3, but a 5-0 run by the Eagles opened things up for FGCU as they never relinquished the lead, taking the 25-18 win to start things off.
Down 19-14 in the second set, KSU rallied from behind, scoring five straight to tie it up at 19 on the
Keyaira Stevenson (Columbia, S.C./Ridgeview HS) serve. Freshman
Cierra Royster (Mableton, Ga./Cumburland Christian HS) and Strachan then picked up kills to put the Owls up 22-20, but five of the last seven points went the way of the Eagles as they grabbed the 25-23 nail-biter.
The Owls again played from behind in the third set, falling behind 5-1 before propelling to a 7-6 lead on a
Jenna Wilt (Woodstock, Ga./Etowah HS) ace and a Florida Gulf Coast attack error. With the set tied up late at 21-21, FGCU capitalized on three Owl attack errors to take the set, 25-21.
After putting up a career high 67 assists on Tuesday night in a win over USC Upstate, setter
Sara Metroka (New Castle, Ind./New Castle Chrysler HS) followed up her performance with 30 assists against FGCU while libero
Camille Pedraza (Marietta, Ga./Kell HS) had 13 digs.
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
Lipscomb 3, Jacksonville 0
Northern Kentucky 3, North Florida 1
Mercer 3, Stetson 1
Eastern Tennessee 3, Upstate 0
