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MACON, Ga. – It took five sets during a Saturday afternoon match, but the Kennesaw State volleyball team fought back to take a 3-2 (25-21, 25-19, 22-25, 17-25, 15-11) thriller over Atlantic Sun conference and in-state rival Mercer University.
 
The Owls, now 8-11 on the year and 3-6 in the A-Sun, rallied behind double-double performances from Toure Hopkins and Kelly Marcinek en route to the win, Hopkins earning 17 digs and 11 kills with Marcinek totaling  17 digs and 11 kills of her own.
 
"I couldn't be any prouder of our team and the way that we pulled that match out," Kennesaw State head coach #Keith Schunzel said. Especially after controlling sets one and two and playing at a very high level. Mercer really stepped up their game and punched us right in the mouth, then our players came out in set five with a determination and look on their faces that I haven't seen all year and came up with big play after big play when everything seemed to be going against us. I'm really proud of all three of our seniors for displaying incredible leadership on the road and this is a huge step forward for our program."
 
In the fifth set with things close in the early goings, the Owls took off on a 5-0 run with kills from Keyaira Stevenson and Megan McGuinness and an ace from Sara Metroka to go up 10-7. KSU then scored the last two points of the set to win it, 15-11, with Stevenson slamming the match winner for the Owls.
 
The match went five sets after the Owls controlled the game through sets one and two, taking the opening set win 25-21 after a Marcinek kill from the senior setter Metroka. KSU picked up on a big offensive run early on in the set and was the first to 20 after a 3-0 spurt with the Michelle Witt service ace before the Marcinek winner.
 
After leading in the second set up to the 10-10 mark, the Owls had to play from behind at the midway point, but quickly regained the lead at 14-13 on a Cierra Royster kill.  A 5-1 run then put KSU up by three at 18-15 with Emily Bean bringing home the set with a kill to make it 25-19.
 
In yet another tightly contested set in the third, the Owls and Bears (1-19, 0-10 A-Sun) played to a 20-20 tie and again at 21 before Mercer scored the next two points to go up by a pair. Royster earned the kill to put the Owls within one at 23-22, but the Bears scored the final two to put the match at 2-1 Owls on the 25-22 set win.
 
During the lone one-sided set of the match, Mercer cruised out to a 9-3 lead in the early portions of the fourth. The Bears went on to win the set 25-17 despite a valiant comeback effort from KSU that saw the Owls cut what was an 11-point lead to just six at 21-15.
 
The Owls had a total of three players in double-figure kill totals, Marcinek and Hopkins each with their 11 and a team-high 14 from Royster to go with her four blocks.
 
Metroka again led the way in assists with 40 while libero Camille Pedraza was tops with 18 digs.
McGuinness also put together a nice game, earning eight kills in 11 attempts with four blocks.
The Owls continue their road trip this week, heading to USC Upstate on Tuesday, Oct. 22, at 6 p.m. ET.
 
To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State volleyball news follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsVB or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.
 
Fans are reminded that tickets to all 2013 home volleyball contests are free throughout the year.
 



 

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