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BOONE, N.C. – Kennesaw State Volleyball's set and match win streak was snapped on Saturday as the Owls fell to East Tennessee State 3-0 (16-25, 18-25, 14-25) on the final day of the Mountaineer Invitational at Appalachian State. The Owls dropped to 2-4 overall for the year while ETSU moved to 5-1 for the year.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Owls hit a season-low .038 (21K-18E-79TA), and their 21 total kills were just three more than the 18 points they received off ETSU service errors.
THE RUNDOWN – It was a one-point game in the opening set at 7-6, when the Buccaneers reeled off 12 of the next 15 points for a 19-9 lead for an eventual 25-16 win. Set two was a tighter contest, as a 5-0 run from the Owls midway through the set, featuring three kills and a pair of aces from
Manu Johnsen, brought KSU within 17-16. ETSU answered back with four straight though for a 25-18 win. The final set had the Owls down early 5-1 and 12-5, before eventually falling by a 25-14 score.
POSTGAME QUOTES
KSU HEAD COACH KEITH SCHUNZEL
"That was a humbling match after an emotional win last night. ETSU was ready from the jump, they were motivated, and they came out super aggressive and confident from the very first serve. It's a really good lesson for our team, because the margins at this level are razor thin. And today we felt the bad end of that in our preparation and mentality. ETSU had it and we didn't. That's on me too. So we'll learn from it and move on.
All in all, we came out of a solid tournament 2-1 and we continue to grow and learn, which right now are the two most important things."
NOTES
-The loss was the first of the tournament for the Owls after two 3-0 sweeps on Friday against Gardner-Webb and Appalachian State.
-Johnsen paced the Owls on offense with nine kills and a .250 hitting percentage.
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Caroline Cole led KSU with 10 digs while
Kaeley Walz added 10 assists.
-Johnsen and
Olivia Burrage were both named to the Mountaineer Invitational All-Tournament Team.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls are back home on Tuesday, Sept. 10, to host the ninth annual Griffin's Game that will help raise money to help a local family dealing with childhood cancer. KSU will host Mercer in the game which will start at 6:30 p.m. Tickets and Griffin's Game T-shirts can all be purchased online at KSUOwls.com, or at the game on Tuesday. Fans can also make donations on the website as well or at the game.
