Box score
KENNESAW, Ga. – Kelly Marcinek had 22 kills and 14 digs to lead the Kennesaw State University volleyball team to a 25-23, 25-21, 19-25, 25-17 win over Northern Kentucky in Atlantic Sun Conference action on Saturday.
Keyaira Stevenson added 15 kills for Kennesaw State, which improved to 11-14 overall and 6-9 in A-Sun play.
Jayden Julian had 13 kills for NKU (10-17, 5-9 A-Sun) while
Tristen Simpson added 10 kills. NKU's
Taylor Snyder picked up her 17
th double-double of the season, posting 39 assists and 10 digs, and
Anna Prickel led the Norse with 15 digs.
KSU opened its biggest lead of Set 1 at 9-5, but the Norse closed down immediately, as
Megan Wanstrath picked up a kill and Simpson added two more to spark a 5-1 run and knot the set at 10-10. The teams matched point-for-point to 21-21 until Emily Bean got her only kill of the set, and first of seven on the day, to set the Owls on a 3-0 run to set point. NKU clawed back a couple of points thanks to a block from Julian and
Keely Creamer and a Wanstrath kill, but the Owls held on to win after a Norse attack error.
Kennesaw raced to a 7-2 lead to open Set 2 and held an advantage until the Norse pulled level at 15-15 thanks to a 7-2 run of their own, keyed by
Kaela Jo Freppon's kill, one of three on the set and four on the match. NKU would take a brief lead at 18-17 before a service ace by Bean gave way to a pair of Norse attack errors and put KSU ahead for good to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
As so often happens with the Norse, they poured on the gas in Set 3, jumping out to an 8-3 lead and never letting up as they cruised to a 25-19 win to extend the match. Ruble picked up a pair of service aces and the Norse collected five blocks in the set.
It was a 10-2 run by the Owls that set the tone for Set 4 as Marcinek came through with five kills in the run. NKU responded with a 12-3 run of their own to take a 14-13 lead before KSU stormed back, scoring 11 of the match's final 13 points to claim the set and the match.
The Norse open their final road weekend of the season on Friday, traveling to face South Carolina Upstate. First serve is set for 7 p.m., with the match scheduled for broadcast on ESPN3. The weekend trip concludes on Saturday with a 3 p.m. start at East Tennessee State.
