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KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State volleyball team put up one of its highest attack percentages of the year at .337 as the Owls bounced back from a Friday night loss to take down Stetson, 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-15).
“I was so happy to see us come out stronger and more energetic,” said Kennesaw State head coach
Karen Weatherington. “We had a lot of younger girls step up and our upperclassmen really took a leadership role. It’s great to get an A-Sun win at home and it really helps swing the momentum back on our side.”
The Owls move to 12-5 on the year with the straight set win, 2-1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference, and drop Stetson to 3-14 while handing the Hatters their first A-Sun loss of the year.
The black and gold started the match off with a 5-1 edge over the Hatters, taking advantage of a pair of service aces from
Jenna Wilt (Woodstock, Ga./Etowah HS) and
Turea Jones (Santa Rosa, Calif./Santa Rosa JC). Stetson managed to tie up the set twice, at 12 and 15, but the Owls scored five straight on the
Emily Bean (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike HS) serve to pull away down the stretch, 25-20.
The Hatters made things interesting in set number two, rattling off an 8-1 run to come within one of the Owls at 13-12. But the Owls would hold strong, picking up four straight points to take the set 25-20.
It was Jones again in the third set helping KSU nudge out to a 13-6 lead with a trio of kills during the Owls’ 4-0 run. Chade Martin (Augusta, Ga./Grovetown HS) checked into the set midway through and gave KSU the 17-9 lead and eventually the set with a kill for a 25-15 win.
“We really wanted to step up our service game and I think we did that,” added Weatherington. “We responded well to the quick turnaround and the girls did a great job handling it.”
The Owls tallied eight aces on the afternoon, two each from Bean and
Sara Metroka (New Castle, Ind./New Castle Chrysler HS).
Bean also led the way in kills with 14 and a .321 attack percentage while
Baylee Strachan (Sioux City, Iowa/Winthrop) had another 10 kill outing, hitting .571, as did Jones who hit .308.
On the defensive side,
Camille Pedraza (Marietta, Ga./Kell HS) came up with 11 digs while Jones finished with her fifth double-double of the season with 10. Martin was tops in blocks, slamming back three in just one set played.
The Owls will now take a break from the midweek action, hosting both Lipscomb and Northern Kentucky next Friday and Saturday.
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, North Florida 2
Northern Kentucky 3, Jacksonville 1
Florida Gulf Coast 3, Mercer 2
