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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Another stand-out performance from freshman outside hitter Kelly Marcinek wasn't enough on Tuesday night as the Owls dropped their first match in a week, 3-0 (18-25, 23-25, 19-25), to Atlantic Sun Conference leading East Tennessee State.
 
Marcinek led the way with 15 kills and a .429 attack percentage during the match as KSU moves to 10-13 overall on the year and 5-8 in the conference standings.
 
"Although certainly not thrilled with the 3-0 defeat, it's definitely encouraging that the overall level of our game continues to rise," Kennesaw State head coach Keith Schunzel said. "We're functioning much smoother in a lot of areas of the game over longer periods of time and there's no question that we're improving. Tonight's match came down to our attackers not finding enough ways to terminate the ball and ETSU's did."
 
The Owls came out firing on all cylinders in the first set, hitting the 10-point mark first at 10-7 on Cierra Royster's third kill of the match. A 4-0 run from the home team then set the Bucs on top by four at 15-11 as ETSU (17-7, 11-1 A-Sun) went on to win the set, 25-18, despite a late 3-0 KSU run that put the Owls within three at 20-17.
 
KSU again led in the early portions of the second set as a Kelly Marcinek block put the Owls up 8-6, matching their largest lead of the set. The Owls then forced an ETSU timeout at 12-8 after a Camille Pedraza service ace and extended their lead to 16-13 on yet another Marcinek point. Senior Emily Bean then came out of a 17-17 KSU timeout and gave the Owls back the lead with a kill, but it was short-lived as ETSU grabbed its first advantage of the set at 21-20 before ending things with a 25-23 win.
 
Once more it was Kennesaw State that started out with the lead in set three as an ETSU attack error gave the Owls a 4-2 edge in the early portions. A 5-0 run from the Bucs then swung things in favor of the home team as East Tennessee State took the 11-10 lead. KSU was the first to hit 15 points as Marcinek followed up her fifth block of the night with her 15^th kill, setting the score at 15-13 Owls. Four straight points from ETSU then put the Bucs back on top as they took the match and the set, 25-19.
 
Marcinek, to go along with her team-leading 15 kills on the offensive side of the net, also tallied a career high five blocks with McGuinness leading KSU in that category with her six.
 
Also on the defensive end, sophomore Toure Hopkins was good for 14 digs during the match.
 
The Owls will return home to the KSU Convocation Center, where the team is 8-2 on the year, this Friday, Nov. 1, for a 7 p.m. ET match against Lipscomb.
 
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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