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PITTSBURGH, Pa. –The Kennesaw State volleyball team battled its second top-15 team in as many days, giving No. 12 Washington all it could handle in a tight four-set loss, 25-19, 25-27, 19-25, 20-25, to close out the Panther Invitational Saturday evening.

"This is right up there with how proud I have ever been of our program at KSU and our players," said Head Coach Keith Schunzel. "We played with passion and grit. We out competed Washington and had player after player step up and make plays in that match." 

How it happened:The Owls (6-3) came out firing to open the match, jumping out to an 8-3 lead to force an early timeout from the Huskies (5-3). Washington would tie the match at 14-14, but KSU flipped a switch going on an 8-1 run to lead 23-15. Senior Maddie Jones was responsible for five of those points, recording four kills and a block during the Owl run.

Liesl Engelbrecht put the nail in the coffin with KSU's final two kills to secure the opening set victory, 25-19.

The second set was a battle as neither team could find the upper hand. KSU gained a little separation following a quick 3-0 run to take a 21-18 lead, but the Huskies responded immediately to tie it back up. 

Washington earned set point following another 3-0 run, but the Owls fended off two set points to stay alive and tie the set at 25-25. A ball handling error and a kill from the Huskies' Shannon Crenshaw gave UW the second set victory, 27-25, to tie the match heading into intermission.

The Huskies came out of the break firing on all cylinders to take an early 8-2 lead. A kill from senior Sydni Shelton followed by back-to-back blocks from Shelton and Engelbrecht sparked a 5-0 run for KSU to knot the match at 9-9. But once again the Huskies responded, going on an 8-2 run to take a 17-11 lead. The Owls attempted to pull it even once again, but could not overcome the deficit, falling 25-19.

In yet another tight set, the Owls found themselves trailing 11-10 following a block from Engelbrecht and Lexi Broadwater. But an Owl error would spark a 6-1 run for UW to take a 17-11 lead. Washington utilized that lead to keep KSU at bay, and despite a late 4-0 run from the Owls to cut it close, UW went on to win the 25-20. 

The Owls were plagued by errors late in the match, hitting .107 and .054 in the third and fourth sets, respectively, compared to .318 and .231 for Washington.

All-Tournament Caliber: Junior setter Lexi Broadwater was the sole Owl to be named to the Panther Invitational All-Tournament Team. She averaged 44.3 assists over the three-match span, tying her career-high with 51 in KSU's opening match against No. 13 Pitt. The Fayetteville, Ga., native also dished out nine kills, 13 digs and six blocks during the tournament.

Notes:Shelton finished the match with a team-high 13 kills, one shy of her season high … Lauren Chastang recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 11 kills and 11 digs … sophomore Quin Sutphin had a monster night, recording a career-high nine kills to go along with six blocks … Engelbrecht led the team with a season-high seven blocks to go along with seven kills … As a team, the Owls recorded 13 total blocks, the third time this season they have logged 13 or more blocks … freshman Dani Ballou came in to replace an injured Jones during the second set and stepped up to record a career-high six kills. 

Quotes:Head Coach Keith Schunzel
On Maddie Jones leaving the match due to injury…
"When you're in control of the match in the second set and one of your starting outside hitters and leaders goes out with an injury, it's a tough place to be in. But Dani [Ballou] came in as a freshman left side and had some huge swings, and we rallied around each other and played our hearts out."

On the team's performance against another top-ranked team…
"This is certainly not a moral victory, but I love everything about this team, who we are and what we're doing."

Up Next:The Owls look to bounce back, returning to Kennesaw to host Auburn this Tuesday at 7 p.m.

For more information on Kennesaw State athletics, follow @KSUOwlNation on Twitter or like Kennesaw State Owls on Facebook and Instagram.

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