KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State volleyball rallied multiple times throughout Friday night's Conference USA contest against Missouri State, but the visiting Bears escaped with a 3-2 victory (25-20, 27-29, 25-22, 24-26, 15-9) at VyStar Arena.
The Owls (9-10, 3-4 CUSA) rallied from a five-point deficit to win the second set, then fought off two match points in the fourth to force a decisive fifth set before eventually falling to Missouri State (14-5, 5-2 CUSA).
STAT OF THE GAME
Kennesaw State finished with 11 more kills than Missouri State (72-61), but the Owls also committed 21 more attack errors (40-19), resulting in a .156 hitting percentage compared to .236 for the Bears.
THE RUNDOWN
Set One (Missouri State 25, KSU 20)
Missouri State jumped out to a 10-4 advantage before the Owls began to battle back. KSU used a 12-4 stretch to take a 16-14 lead, with Olivia Burrage and Haley Patterson helping fuel the comeback. The teams continued to trade points until a 19-19 tie, when the Bears scored four straight points to take control. Missouri State went on to claim the opening set, 25-20.
Set Two (KSU 29, Missouri State 27)
The Bears again took control early, building a 7-2 lead before KSU began chipping away at the deficit. The Owls eventually tied the score at 14-14 and later built a 20-17 advantage behind strong play from Ashlyn Anderson and Burrage. Missouri State rallied to even the score at 20 and again at 23 before the teams traded points deep into extra play. With the score tied at 27, Burrage and Anderson combined for a block to give KSU set point, and Kourtney Brown followed with a service ace to finish off the 29-27 victory.
Set Three (Missouri State 25, KSU 22)
Kennesaw State held an early 12-11 lead before Missouri State responded with an 8-1 run to move ahead 19-13. The Owls refused to go away, however, scoring seven of the next eight points to tie the set at 20-20. Brown sparked the rally with back-to-back service aces, while Patterson and Anderson each added kills. The Bears answered with two straight points and held off KSU down the stretch for a 25-22 victory.
Set Four (KSU 26, Missouri State 24)
The Owls again found themselves playing from behind early in the fourth, trailing 9-5 before battling back to take a 13-11 lead. KSU extended its advantage to 20-17, but Missouri State rallied to tie the score at 20 and eventually moved ahead 24-22. Facing match point, the Owls answered with four consecutive points. Burrage started the comeback with a kill, followed by consecutive Missouri State attack errors and another Burrage kill to give KSU the 26-24 victory and force a fifth set.
Set Five (Missouri State 15, KSU 9)
Missouri State grabbed the early momentum in the decisive set, building an advantage that KSU could not overcome. The Bears stretched their lead to 11-5 before closing out the six-point victory to end the two-and-a-half-hour battle.
NOTES
- Kennesaw State recorded season highs in kills (72), digs (88) and attack attempts (205).
- Haley Patterson finished with 18 kills, 20 digs and four blocks for a double-double.
- Olivia Burrage recorded 15 kills on .379 hitting (15-4-29), along with five blocks, increasing her school-record career total to 416.
- Ashlyn Anderson posted 15 kills on .313 hitting (15-5-32), along with four blocks.
- Kourtney Brown finished with 41 assists, 14 digs and three service aces for a double-double.
- Alexis Sowers led the Owls with 23 digs.
- Hannah Pearce recorded 14 digs and three service aces.
- Ashley Theiss contributed nine kills, nine digs and two service aces.
- Former Kennesaw State volleyball standout Kristi Piedimonte was recognized during Friday night's match ahead of her induction into the KSU Athletics Hall of Fame in November. Piedimonte is the first volleyball alum in program history to be selected for the honor.
NEXT TIME OUT
Kennesaw State closes out its two-match Conference USA home series against Missouri State on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 2 p.m. at VyStar Arena. The contest will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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