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STARKVILLE, Miss. – Facing one of its toughest opponents in school history, Kennesaw State volleyball (5-2) saw its three-game win streak snapped in a 3-0 loss (25-17, 25-15, 25-19) at Mississippi State (6-0) on Thursday night in the opening game of the Maroon and White Invite in the Newell-Grissom Building.
STAT OF THE GAME: Errors hurt the Owls, as KSU finished the night with 12 service errors to just one ace, while the home team had nine service errors but five aces. It was more of an advantage on the attack, with KSU posting 18 attack errors on the way to a .131 hitting percentage. MSU meanwhile had only six errors all night long and registered a .410 hitting percentage.
SET ONE: KSU jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead and were ahead 4-2 on a kill by Manu Johnsen. MSU bounced back for an 8-5 advantage. After a kill from McKinley Ferguson to take the serve back for the Owls, MSU answered by scoring 12 of the next 16 points for a 20-10 advantage on the way to the win.
SET TWO: MSU burst out with a 9-4 advantage and never let the Owls challenge for the eventual 10-point win.
SET THREE: This was the most competitive set of the night. KSU scored the first two points and were within two points as late as 13-11. The Bullldogs then slowly pulled away, scoring four straight to extend the lead to six points. The Owls kept fighting, and were within 23-18 off a kill from Lanie Vantrease, before two straight MSU points finished the set and the match.
QUOTEABLE: "There's a reason that team is knocking on the door of the top 25. They're experienced, handle the ball extremely well and run lighting fast offense. This was the first time all year our serve didn't put any pressure on our opponent, and with how fast they play, that's a bad recipe. We'll definitely need to be better on that front tomorrow. I thought Emma (Schurfranz) played with an aggressive confidence all night and our middles continue to score the ball well. But other than some nice moments here and there, we were mentally and physically behind all night. We'll learn from this and move on, still lots ahead for our team." – KSU head coach Keith Schunzel
NOTES:
-The Owls were swept in a match for the first time since a 3-0 loss at FGCU on Oct. 8 in Fort Myers, Fla.
-The series between the two is now tied at 1-1, while KSU is now 4-16 all-time against the SEC.
-Schurfranz led the Owls with nine kills, while Ferguson added 23 assists Three players had three digs each for KSU.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls play their second game in the Maroon and White Invite on Friday against South Alabama at 4 pm.
