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KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State volleyball team took it down to the wire on Friday night in the Convocation Center but ultimately tipped fortune in their favor on Halloween night, taking down Jacksonville 3-2 (24-26, 30-28, 25-19, 25-17, 17-15) in a crucial Atlantic Sun Conference match.
 
"It's big," head coach Keith Schunzel said. "Anytime you get a conference win it's big. Coming in to tonight obviously we were tied with Jacksonville and North Florida in the standings, but we really didn't focus on that too much this week. I'm just proud of how we fought in the match and kept grinding and came out and played an excellent set five, probably our best set of the year, and came out with the win."

The Owls, now 10-13 on the year and 4-5 in league play, saw four players in double-digit kills including a match-high from Ria Ridley with her 21. Kristi Piedimonte aided in the effort with her 55 assists while libero Katarina Morton was tops with 28 digs, one of three Owls to reach the 21-dig plateau.
 
Coming out in the decisive fifth set, it was KSU that pulled away after the teams played to an 8-8 draw, Toure Hopkins rattling off three kills in a 4-0 run to put the Owls up 12-9. With the win in grasp at 14-11 KSU, it was Jacksonville (12-12, 3-6 A-Sun) that came back swinging, clipping off three straight of their own to tie it up at 14 all. With the game tied at 15-15, it was kills from Ridley and Piedimonte that put the Dolphins away, handing KSU the 17-15 set win and the match, 3-2.
 
KSU hit .481 in the fifth set alone on 15 kills, one of the highest single set totals in the Schunzel era.
 
The extended opening set saw JU take a 1-0 match lead after breaking open a 24-24 tie with two straight points to close out the Owls. KSU led by as many as three in the first at 13-10 before the Dolphins came back to knot things up in the long run.
 
In danger of falling 2-0 in the match, the Owls trailed the Dolphins 24-19. With Morton serving and four kills from four different players, KSU came back to tie the set at 24. In extra points, the team spoiled four more set points for JU and tied the match at one apiece after an Anaiah Boyer kill and hitting error by Jacksonville.
 
The Owls came out of the locker room and won the third set 25-19 after maintaining the lead throughout the set.
 
In the fourth set, JU raced out to a big lead and ended up winning the set 25-17 to force a fifth set.
 
Tomorrow the Owls play North Florida at 3 p.m. on Senior Day where Ridley, Chade Martin and Dominique Simmons will be celebrated.
 
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 2014 home volleyball contests are free throughout the year.