Daniel Miller, Staff Writer
The Kennesaw State Volleyball team took a road trip to Florida for a pair of conference games. Despite several strong individual performances, the Owls fell short in both appearances losing to the North Florida Ospreys 3-1 and Jacksonville Dolphins in straight sets.
“We are by no means where we wanted to be, but we still have plenty of time to get this ship moving in the right direction again,” KSU head coach Keith Schunzel said.
Fresh off a defeat to North Florida, KSU found it challenging to put together any momentum against a Jacksonville team on Saturday.
“It didn’t feel like we were nearly as engaged as we were last night,” said Schunzel.
KSU trailed 10-5 to open the first set which prompted Schunzel to call timeout. Miscues by the Dolphins followed by a Boyer kill trimmed the Owls deficit to 14-11. Both teams exchanged points before a 7-2 run by Jacksonville opened the flood gates and the Dolphins cruised to a 25-19 set victory.
The second set was the arguably most spirited of the afternoon. KSU asserted themselves early taking a commanding 12-6 lead. The Owls maintained the advantage and appeared that they were on their way to tying the game at one set a piece, but Jacksonville stormed back and rallied to secure the set 29-27.
Down two sets to none, the third set was a constant battle as both teams were deadlocked most of the way. KSU led 16-15 before three straight points by Jacksonville surged them ahead for good, winning the clinching set 25-20.
“We’re at a part of the season right now where we are starting to get some tired legs and tired minds,” said Schunzel. “One thing our team has to learn to do is push through that, keep grinding it out and figuring out ways to be successful.”
Boyer recorded her second double-double of the weekend with 11 kills and 11 digs. Senior Ria Ridley posted 10 kills.
Friday night’s loss was a tough one to swallow for KSU as the Ospreys came into the contest searching for its first conference win.
Boyer recorded her second straight double-double with 15 kills and 12 digs while Marcinek also tallied another double-double posting 12 kills and 11 digs.
“We frankly need more than two people killing the ball consistently,” Schunzel said. “At times this year we’ve had that third or fourth attacker which really balances the offense. Unfortunately, tonight we didn’t have that and against a good blocking team like North Florida, that hurt us.”
The Owls began the game with a 13-8 advantage after a kill from Kristi Piedimonte forced the Ospreys to call timeout. Following the timeout North Florida responded with a 6-2 run, and just like that it was a one point game at 15-14. The Owls as held a 22-20 lead before dropping the opening set 25-23.
KSU opened the second set up with a 12-4 scoring burst led by Boyer and Marcinek. However, following a timeout, North Florida rallied with a 7-2 run that made the score 14-11.
The Owls then called timeout to regain their composure.
Marcinek stepped up with a kill and ace on back-to-back plays, and while the Ospreys kept it close the rest of the way, KSU made enough plays down the stretch to hold on for a 25-23 second set victory.
KSU appeared to be in control in the third set after North Florida lost their early lead.
But a 6-0 scoring surge by the Ospreys gave the home team all the momentum it needed. Trailing 17-13, the Owls made one last comeback attempt trimming the deficit to 18-17 after a Cierra Royster kill but it simply wasn’t enough.
The Owls came out in fourth set with a lackluster performance and were overmatched by North Florida losing 25-11.
The team still has seven conference games remaining before the conferences tournament. The next home game is Saturday Oct. 25 against USC Upstate at 3 p.m.
