Sept. 9, 2008

Box Score

MACON, Ga.--Asjia Stokes led Kennesaw State with 10 kills, but it wasn't enough as Kennesaw State dropped a 3-1 (18-25, 25-11, 25-22, 25-17) decision to Mercer in the Atlantic Sun Conference opener for both teams.

"I'm really happy with the effort we had tonight," said KSU head coach Valerie Jones. "We didn't get the result we wanted, but we have improved greatly from the first match of the season. The A-Sun's new double round robin schedule means you have to be sharp coming out of the blocks in conference play, and we just weren't sharp enough."

The Owls (1-6, 0-1 A-Sun) took the first two points of the match on kills by Callie Churchwell and Stokes. KSU kept the lead until a service ace gave the Bears a 5-4 lead. Maja Kostic brought the Owls back into a tie with a kill to make it 5-all, and three points later KSU led again after a Mercer hitting error.

Mercer (5-3, 1-0) took a two-point advantage at 9-7, but KSU took advantage of two Mercer errors and an ace by Albright to take a 10-9 lead. Sabrita Gulley continued the run with a kill for an 11-9 edge. The run went to 5-0 after a kill by Stokes, but Mercer scored three of the next four points to bring the score to 13-12 and send the Owls into a timeout.

The teams traded points off the timeout, with KSU extending the lead to three after a service ace for Kostic. A hitting error by the Bears sent the Owls on their way, putting the visitors up 18-14 and sending Mercer into its first timeout.

A player into the next on the next point gave the Owls a five-point lead, and a block for Chelsey Denesha and Ginny Frederick put the Owls up by six. A long rally went the way of the Owls again, with an attack error by the Bears putting KSU up 21-14. With the hostile crowd sensing trouble, Denesha dropped an attack in to put the Owls up by eight. Kostic's second ace of the rotation gave KSU a 23-14 lead before the Bears finally scored to end the run.

The Owls scored the next point for a set point opportunity. The Bears fought off the first three, but couldn't fight off the fourth as an attack error gave the Owls set one, 25-18.

The second set started the opposite way of the first with Mercer taking the first two points. A block by Churchwell and Gulley gave the Owls their first point on their first block of the match. Denesha recorded her fourth kill of the match to tie the score, and an illegal back row attack by the Bears gave KSU the lead. Mercer responded with a 6-0 to take an 8-3 advantage and send KSU into its first timeout.

Kostic powered home an attack off the timeout to stop the run, and another kill on an overball by Denesha brought KSU within three. The teams traded errors for the next four points before a 5-0 run by the Bears put the home team ahead by nine, 16-7.

Denesha ended the run with a kill, but Mercer scored the next three points to take a 19-8 lead and send KSU into its second timeout of the set. The Owls scored the next point off the timeout thanks to a Gulley kill, but Mercer scored the next two points to go ahead 21-9. The Owls would get no closer than 12 points for the remainder of the set. The Bears would take the second set, 25-11.

The third set began like the first with the Owls taking the first two points. Mercer tied the score up, but a Churchwell kill gave KSU the lead back. Kostic extended the advantage back to two with a kill, but Mercer scored the next two to tie the score. Stokes would score the next three points for the Owls, recording a kill and two aces to put the Black and Gold up by three. Mercer scored three of the next four points to tie the score, but Gulley put KSU back up with a kill to make it 9-8. Mercer tied the score, but back-to-back blocks by the Owls gave the visitors a two-point lead.

A non-touch call went against the Owls, tying the score at 11-all. KSU took the lead back, though the Bears negated the tie with the next two points. Mercer slowly extended the advantage to four, 19-15, and KSU asked for time.

Denesha brought KSU within three off the timeout with a kill, and a block for Gulley and Churchwell inched the Owls ever closer, 19-17. Three points later, KSU cut the lead to one with a Mercer attack error, but the Owls couldn't get closer. After a Mercer kill made the score 23-20, the Owls asked for time again.

Stokes dumped an attack over the net off the timeout to pull the Owls within two, but Mercer scored again to get to set point. Denesha put down an attack to fight off the first set point, but a Mercer kill gave the Bears a 25-22 win in the third.

In the fourth set, the Owls took a two-point lead at 4-2 on consecutive kills for Churchwell and Stokes. Mercer took the lead at 6-5, but a Kostic kill brought KSU into a tie. A solo block by Denesha gave KSU the lead back, but Mercer scored the next four points to take a 10-7 lead. Mercer would extend the lead to four, 13-9, and KSU asked for timeout.

The Bears won the timeout, taking the next three points after the break to extend the lead to seven. KSU came back, using a kill by Stokes and two errors by the home team to cut the lead to back down to four, 16-12. But the Bears would score the next three points, extending the lead to seven and forcing the Owls to ask for time.

Mercer pushed the lead to eight after the timeout, but kills for Kostic and Denesha cut the lead to six, 21-15. The Bears earned match point three points later, and while the Owls fought off the first two, Mercer would take the match with a kill, as Mercer won 25-17 in the final set.

The Bears had 15 blocks in the contest, compared to just five for the Owls. KSU had more digs in the match than Mercer, taking a 50-49 advantage in that category.

The Owls will be back in action this weekend as KSU travels to Florida to take on North Florida and Jacksonville. Match time on Friday night against UNF is set for 7:00 p.m.