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LYNCHBURG, Va. – Kennesaw State Volleyball's three-game win streak came to a halt on Friday night, as the Owls fell behind early after dropping two tight sets in a 3-1 (25-22, 25-22, 19-25, 25-16) setback at Liberty in Conference USA action at Liberty Arena. The Owls dropped to 9-6 with the loss while Liberty moved to 15-3, and both teams are now tied at 3-2 in league action.
STAT OF THE GAME: Errors sealed the Owls' chances on Friday, as they committed 27 total attack errors, and also had 11 service errors to just one ace.
THE RUNDOWN – The Owls were chasing Liberty from the start in the first two sets. Set one was tied at 20-20 when a 3-0 run carried the Flames to a three-point set win. Set two meanwhile the Flames jumped out to an 11-3 lead, and the advantage was at least three or more points almost the rest of the way. KSU did close within 24-22 after kills from
Kiernan Stamey and
Olivia Burrage, before Liberty scored the final point for a 2-0 lead. Down 16-12 in set three,
Manu Johnsen helped spark a 7-0 run, as she recorded two kills along with an ace to put the Owls ahead 19-16, and they held on for the six-point win. Liberty managed to hold off any rally in the fourth, as the Owls came back from an 11-5 deficit to make it an 11-10 contest, but they couldn't force a tie or grab the lead, and the Flames held on for the set and match win.
POSTGAME QUOTES
KSU HEAD COACH KEITH SCHUNZEL
"Did some nice stuff today. Definitely had stretches of good play, but it felt like we were fighting uphill in pretty much every set which is a tough thing to do on the road. Our team has to engage every single point at a higher intensity and focus, particularly on the road, if we want to give ourselves the chance to play at the level we're capable of. Tonight we didn't do that. I thought liberty did a much better job most of the night playing cleaner with the ball. And looking at 27 hitting errors by us to only nine by them is a huge difference and something we need to keep improving on, and that's also a strength of theirs. Tomorrow we will need to figure out how to slow down their three hitters, whether that's through our serve, block, or defense. They only set three kids, but those three do a nice job moving the ball around and finding ways to both keep the ball in play and score."
NOTES
-Stamey led the Owls with 17 kills, while Johnsen was next with 16.
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Kaeley Walz posted her first double-double of the season with 29 assists and 14 digs.
-The Owls finished hitting .244 for the game, as they recorded 14 more kills than Liberty 966-52), but also committed 18 more errors.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls close out the weekend series against Liberty on Saturday in a 1 p.m. contest that will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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The Owls Fund is the primary fundraising arm of Kennesaw State Athletics with the goal of supporting our student-athletes, coaches and each of our 18 NCAA Division I programs. Through initiatives such as Legacy Lockers, the Dot Martin Scholarship Golf Classic, sport-specific giving opportunities, general donations and season tickets, The Owls Fund connects fans with KSU's programs and student-athletes. Members receive exclusive benefits such as hospitality seating areas and events at Kennesaw State home games, and more. Join The Owls Fund here and discover more opportunities on how you can support Kennesaw State Athletics.
