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OXFORD, Miss. – Even with three players in double-figure kill totals, the Kennesaw State volleyball team couldn't survive its second fifth set match this season as the Owls fell to Arkansas State, 3-2, (18-25, 26-24,25-21, 22-25, 8-15) in the second match of the day for KSU in the Magnolia Invitational.
 
Keyaira Stevenson topped a career high in kills with 22 and a .444 attack percentage while Toure Hopkins earned the first double-double of her career with 15 kills and 10 digs. Freshman Kelly Marcinek was the third Owl with double-digit kills, adding in 18 while setter Sara Metroka chipped in with 60 assists.
 
KSU now falls to 1-4 on the season after suffering a 3-0 loss to the host team Ole Miss earlier on Friday.
 
"At times tonight we played at a very high level," said head coach #Keith Schunzel. "We played our best volleyball tonight in sets two and three and led the match 2-1, but unfortunately we didn't make enough plays to close it out in game four. Game five is always a coin flip and we flat out got outplayed in the fifth. We're going to stay the course and keep improving and we're looking forward to putting on the KSU jerseys again tomorrow."
 
In the fifth set it was ASU, now 1-5, that came out to the 6-3 lead before the Owls took two straight points on Stevenson kills. Midway through it was Marcinek who kept KSU alive, sending a kill across to put the score at 11-8 before a 4-0 run from the Red Wolves ended things at 15-8.
 
After dropping an opening set, 25-18, that saw eight ties and two lead changes, the Owls came out to a 5-0 lead in the second after a pair of kills from Marcinek. ASU then rallied to a three point lead late in the set at 23-20, but a pair of attack errors and a Stevenson kill tied things up at 23 before the Owls took it in extra points, 26-24, on back-to-back Marcinek kills.
 
ASU led the majority of the way in set number three and by as many as five points at the midway mark, 16-11, until the Owls struck a 3-0 run to come within two of the Red Wolves. Senior Camille Pedraza then tied it up with consecutive service aces, 18-18, before closing out the set on a 5-1 stretch to take a 2-1 match lead with a 25-25 set win.
 
With the game in hand in the fourth up 20-18, the Red Wolves took off on a 6-1 run, winning the set 25-22 to force a fifth game.
 
At the net, KSU racked up five team blocks with four coming from redshirt freshman Megan McGuinness. On the other side of things, ASU was good for 14.
 
Pedraza was tops in terms of digs for both teams with her 29, her first match this season with 20 or more.
 
KSU will wrap up its time in Oxford, Miss., tomorrow as the Owls face off against in-state rival Georgia Southern at Noon 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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