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KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State volleyball was in a back-and-forth battle with Michigan State (6-0) over the first three sets, but couldn't make enough plays at the end of the sets as the Owls (4-2) suffered their first home loss of the season, 3-1 (28-26, 16-25, 25-21, 25-16) on Thursday night from VyStar Arena. This was the first game of the Kennesaw State Invitational, and it also marked this season's Griffin's Game for KSU.
STAT OF THE GAME: KSU was held under .200 for hitting percentage in both the third and fourth sets, including just a 0.91 in the set four.
THE RUNDOWN – The opening set saw several big runs, the first by MSU as they used a 10-1 spurt to grab a 16-11 advantage. A 6-1 run by the Owls that featured a pair of aces brought them back into the game, tying the score at 17-17. The lead changed hands five more times, and KSU had set point at 24-23, before eventually falling 28-26. Set two was the Spartans at the start with an 8-2 lead, before the Owls roared back with a huge 17-3 burst. An ace from
Kourtney Brown gave KSU a 20-12 edge, on the way to a 25-16 victory. Set three saw 10 ties and five lead changes, and the score was knotted at 20-20 when the Spartans took control of the match by scoring five of the final six points for a 25-21 win and a 2-1 overall set advantage. In the final set, MSU jumped out to a 9-2 lead and led 20-9. KSU reeled off five straight to close within 20-14 but couldn't find enough scoring to close out the match.
POSTGAME QUOTES
KSU HEAD COACH KEITH SCHUNZEL
"I thought we fought pretty hard for most of that match. I'm proud of our overall effort. Thought we had a number of opportunities to win that match, we were at two swings to win set 1, we won set 2 and we were siding out at 20-21 in set 3.
I'd like to see ultra-aggression, belief and confidence in those moments, because we have a good team capable of really good things and we need to believe we're going to execute and finish it when we give ourselves the opportunities like we did.
We definitely need to continue to string together longer moments of consistent overall play, especially at the end of set 3 and in set 4.
But we were literally points away from sweeping that match. Both frustrating and encouraging at the same time. We'll be a little ticked off tonight, we'll learn, and we'll move on."
NOTES
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Olivia Burrage paced the Owls with 13 kills, four blocks, and a .455 hitting percentage.
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Kiernan Stamey and
Manu Johnsen were next with 10 kills each, while they added six and five kills, respectively.
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Kaeley Walz finished with her first double-double of the season off 22 assists and 11 digs.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls will take Friday off before closing out play in the KSU Invitational with a Saturday, 12 p.m. match against Appalachian State in VyStar Arena.
The Owls Fund
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. Joining The Owls Fund here and discover more opportunities on how you can support Kennesaw State Athletics.
