Owls grounded a 3-0 loss to No. 24 in South Carolina

KENNESAW, Ga. Kennesaw State volleyball claimed another victory over Power Five, but it held tougher on Thursday night as the owls dropped 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-17) 24.^th-ranked the South Carolina Gamecocks Thursday night at the convention center. The loss cut Owls ’three-match winning streak and sent them 4-3, while USC improved the season 6-1.

KSU’s best series of the match was the first when the Owls gathered from a 7-3 loss to seize the 11-10 edge. The lead grew to two points twice at KSU, for the first time Emma Schurfranz ace 14–12 and then Gamecock service error 15–13. South Carolina then showed why it is among the top 25 and scored seven of the next eight points to dominate the opening round from 9pm to 5pm, on its way to the final win of the series. In the next two sets, the Owls were only once in the lead, 4-3, in three sets, but made Gamecocks play at a high level to eventually win three sets.

Quotation mark:“First of all, this is a really good ball club team we played tonight, so South Carolina is ranked in the top 25. They are clean with the ball, they have a lot of good solution and ball handling. I was happy with how our team reacted at different times this time “But if we can’t get it to constantly attack against a team like that, you give them three, four, five points and it’s hard to go back. That’s how we learn and grow as the match progresses. Now we’re going back and preparing for Clemson.” KSU head coach Keith Schunzel

NOTES:

• This was the Owls’ first 3-0 loss of the season.
• This was the first time this season. The owls finished at the lowest level of the game season 25.
• KSU led South Carolina in one class, four aces to three guests.
• Owls .060 hit rate was also the lowest of the season.
• KSU are in the middle of three straight home games against Power Five opponents, all at home. This is the first time in program history that KSU has played three Power Five teams.

GRIFFIN’S GAME

Next up for the owls is Friday’s Griffin’s Game as KSU hosts Clemson Tigers at 7 p.m. at the convention center. Griffin’s Game is KSU’s annual volleyball fundraiser to help a local family fight childhood cancer. Tickets for the competition are $ 10, but group tickets are also available. Fans can donate or buy T-shirts to help with the clickhere.