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KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State needed just one final push to get to its first win of the season, but Wichita State managed to hold on at the end as the Owls lost a five-set battle 3-2 (25-20, 26-24, 17-25, 17-25, 12-15) to Wichita State on Saturday afternoon from the Convocation Center. This was the second and final game of the day in the Kennesaw State Invitational, as the Shockers lost a 3-2 contest to Indiana on Saturday morning.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Owls are still looking for consistency on offense, as they hit above .200 in just one of the five sets (.297 in the second). For the game, they finished at .173 (57K-29E-162TA). Wichita State meanwhile finished at .237 (61K-25E-152TA).
THE RUNDOWN – WSU led 12-9 in the opening set when the Owls reeled off seven straight to take a four-point edge. The Shockers would eventually tie the set at 20-20, before a kill from
Caroline Chastang ignited a 5-0 run to end the set and give KSU a 25-20 win and a 1-0 lead. Second two was back and forth the whole way and went to extra points before an
Olivia Burrage kill and an attack error from WSU put the Owls up 2-0. Set three saw KSU up 7-6 before the Shockers scored 14 of the next 17 points for a 20-10 advantage on the way to a 25-17 win. Set four was also a 25-17 win for the visitors, thanks to an 8-3 run to end the set. Neither team could get a big advantage in the final set, as the score was tied three times, the last at 11-11. A 3-0 run from the Shockers put them up 13-11, before a Manu Johnson kill made it a 13-12 contest. Back-to-back kills from WSU's Brooklyn Leggett closed out the set and the match.
POSTGAME QUOTES
KSU HEAD COACH KEITH SCHUNZEL
"I'm disappointed in our lack of killer instinct tonight. We had a tired team down 2-0 and we couldn't close the door. We needed leaders to step up and finish that game and we didn't get it. Good lesson for us early in the season."
NOTES
-Johnsen led the Owls with 19 kills while adding eight digs and three blocks.
-Also in double-figures was
Caroline Chastang with a career-high 13 kills.
-
Kaeley Walz led the Owls with 24 assists, while
Leah Freeman posted a team-best 20 digs.
-The Owls did record a season-high 13 blocks in the contest.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls will play on the road for the first time this season as they will play in the Mountaineer Classic in Boone, N.C., on Sept. 6-7. On the first day of the tournament, KSU will face Gardner-Webb at 1 p.m., and then take on the host Appalachian State Mountaineers in a 7 p.m. contest on Friday, Sept. 7. KSU will then close out against East Tennessee State in a 12 p.m. game on Saturday, Sept. 8.
