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CLEMSON, S.C. – Kennesaw State Volleyball was just two points away from a big road win at Clemson as the Owls were looking to spoil the Tigers’ opening night in the newly renovated Jervey Gym, but Clemson was able to rally to win the fourth set and then escape with a 3-2 (20-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-23, 15-8) victory on Thursday night.
STAT OF THE GAME: After the Owls took their last three-point lead at the end of the fourth, Clemson would score 17 of the next 22 points of the game, as they would open the fifth set with a 12-5 advantage.
THE RUNDOWN – KSU found itself down several times in the opening set, at 5-2, 9-6 and 12-10. But the Owls were not afraid on the big stage, and used a 7-0 run, which featured three aces from junior Manu Johnsen, to open up a 21-15 lead and a 4-0 run sealed the set for KSU 25-20. Set two meanwhile lead right from the straight with a quick 6-1 opening edge. Clemson did rally to take the lead back at 16-15, and led 20-19 when a 5-0 run by the Owls, which included a pair of kills from Olivia Burrage, carried them to the win, sealed by a kill from Kiernan Stamey. Clemson led the majority of the third set, going up 15-10 on the way to the 21-19 victory to lose within 2-1. Set four was in the Owls’ favor the majority of the time, with an 8-4 start. Clemson did tie the set at 14-14, but the Owls would eventually go up 23-20 on a service error. The Owls’ offense failed them at the worst time, as five consecutive errors would allow Clemson to steal the set and tie the match at 2-2. The momentum was then on the host Tigers’ side, and they led 6-2 and 12-5 before closing out the match.
POSTGAME QUOTES
KSU HEAD COACH KEITH SCHUNZEL
“I was proud of our fight. Our team always plays hard. I love our young women, our team, and what we’re about. But I am so, so, so disappointed in our lack of confidence and collective team swag and ego to finish that match up 23-20 and up 2 sets to 1 in the 4th set. Clemson didn’t make plays at the end of that set. We gave them points because we hesitated, we hoped and we started thinking. We HAVE to learn, mentally as much as physically, how to close the door on teams. We’ve seen this a couple times now so far this year. That team was begging to get beat, we had them beat, but we didn’t finish the job.”
NOTES
-Johnsen paced the Owls with 11 kills and 13 digs for her third consecutive double-double. She also added a team-high four aces in the game.
-Next on the team in kills were Caroline Chastang and Stamey, both with eight each.
–Kaeley Walz paced KSU with 18 assists, while Leah Freeman had a team-high 20 digs.
-The Owls hit above .200 in the first two sets, and then were negative or even in the final three. Clemson meanwhile hit .333 (7K-1E-18TA) in the final deciding set.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls stay in Clemson to face Furman on Friday at 2 p.m., in a game that will not be streamed. Live stats will be available at KSUOwls.com.