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GREENVILLE, S.C. – Kennesaw State volleyball, playing its third game in four days, faced off against a strong and tested High Point squad Friday afternoon and were handed a 3-0 (23-25, 21-25, 16-25) loss by the Panthers (7-4) in a match held on the Furman campus in Greenville, S.C.
The Owls (6-5 overall) already had a pair of road wins this week (Tuesday at Samford, Thursday at Furman), but ran out of gas in the third set after playing a very tight opening set. In that first set, the Owls were up 22-19 when HPU went on a 3-0 run to knot the game at 22-22. KSU scored the next point off a block, but then saw the Panthers reel off the next three points to steal the set. Set two again could have gone either way, with KSU closing within 21-20. The Panthers again closed out to claim the set, scoring four of the next five points.
With a 2-0 led, HPU was in control all of set three, as consecutive aces put them ahead 10-5 and the Owls came no closer then four the rest of the final set.
STAT OF THE GAME: KSU's hitting percentage of .120 (35 K-21 E-117 TA) was its second-lowest of the season, HPU meanwhile posted a .259 for the match.
QUOTEABLE: "Proud of our team for what we did during non-conference play. We played a bunch of conference champions and played some big, physical teams that pressure you in a lot of ways. Today was no exception. High Point has a really nice ball club who is probably going to run through their league. They have tons of size and they're just always coming at you with their serve, attack and block. Competing at the level we did over these last four weeks with the scheduled we played was exactly what we needed to grow, get challenged, and learn what we need to get better at. I continue to like the competitiveness of our team and their connection to each other. We have a really high ceiling and as long as we keep taking it one day at a time and improving, at the end of the day we'll be in the mix in the ASUN."– KSU head coach Keith Schunzel
NOTES:
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls start ASUN play with three games next weekend, all at Jacksonville State in Jacksonville, Ala. First, the Owls will take on North Alabama on Friday, Sept. 24 at 1 pm. That's followed by a Saturday, Sept. 25 contest against Central Arkansas at 4 pm. KSU closes out the weekend with a Sunday, Sept. 26 match against the host Jacksonville State Gamecocks at 6 pm.
