Score: Kennesaw State 0, UC Irvine 3 (21-25, 18-25, 23-25)
Records: Kennesaw State (2-1), UC Irvine (4-0)
Key Players: Kristi Piedimonte (29 assists and 11 digs), Katarina Morton (10 digs on the night and 1,500^th career dig), Liesl Engelbrecht (9 kills hitting .533)
 
Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (XML) 
 
THE STORYLINE: 
· The Owls lost a tough match to UC Irvine on the first night of the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic in three sets. Katarina Morton notched her 1,500^th career dig with 10 total digs in the match.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 
In the first set, both teams kept it close until the middle of the set when the Anteaters stretched out their lead to 14-10. Kennesaw State got back within two, but UC Irvine close out the opener 25-21.
 
Similar to the first set, UC Irvine stretched out their lead in the middle of the second set, used a 5-1 run to go up 2-0.
 
The Anteaters used a 5-0 run to take a 12-7 lead in the third. With their backs against the wall, Kennesaw State went on a 9-2 run and fended off six match points before UC Irvine finished the set out 25-23 to win the match.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 
· The loss is the Owls first of the 2017 season.
· Katarina Morton hit a career milestone with her eighth dig of the night hitting 1,500 for her career. Only two Kennesaw State players have ever accumulated 1,500 career digs.
· Karlee Groover and Kristi Piedimonte led the team with 11 digs.
· Liesl Engelbrecht had a good a night attacking finishing with nine kills hitting .533 on the night.

UP NEXT
The Owls will be back on the court tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. against Illinois State. They'll turn around and play again against the home team St. Louis Billicans Saturday night at 8 p.m.

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.
 
It is free admission to all home volleyball matches for the Owls. 
 

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