The Owls fell to Wheaton College during their double game on Sunday, Sept. 21. KSC started the game off strong, hitting .312 in the first set. The Owls went on to have a 2-0 set lead against the Lyons, keeping their dominance by winning the second with a 25-13, keeping the opponents at bay with just two kills.
The advantage fell to the Lyons by the third set, and even though the score was a close 21-20, the Lyons took four points from the Owls to close out the set.
The fourth set was just as close, after coming back to a 13-11 score, but it wasn’t enough for KSC. The Lyons managed to go on a 10-2 run, and the set ended with a 25-18 score, leading the teams into a fifth set to determine the winner of the match.
At first, the Owls had the lead on the Lyons at a 10-5 score, but the Lyons came back, tying the game up at 14-14, leaving the crowd on the edges of their seats. Despite the Owls’ efforts, the Lyons ended up winning the final set 16-14, leaving them victorious in the match.
Junior outside hitter Gigi Stake played in all five sets, earning herself a .333 kill percent with 14 kills throughout the game, her highest kill count in one game. Three of these kills were in the final set as she fought to keep he team afloat.
First-year outside hitter Marina Miller made her mark, fighting for her team throughout the game. She also got herself 14 kills, her third-highest this season. She fought in the last set alongside Stake and junior middle blocker Annaliese Rudberg, scoring three kills against the enemy Lyons.
Rudberg also made a name for herself, getting nine kills out of 19 total attempts, leaving her at a .421 kill percent, her second highest of the season. Sophomore setter Alexis Small got 39 assists, her second-highest of the season, playing hard for all 5 sets and setting up her teammates for kills. First-year Delia Ryan got 16 digs this game, one of her highest counts of the season.
While the Owls looked to improve in the second match, matters continued to be rocky for the team. In the first set, Gordon College got out in front of KSC with two points and maintained a lead throughout, ultimately winning the set 25-11. In the second set, Keene State showed some promise offensively, coming back from a 6-2 deficit to tie things up 6-6.
Following this, both teams swapped leads until KSC pulled ahead toward the end of the set, winning it 25-21.
Now tied at 1-1 in the match, the third set proved to be another battle. KSC secured seven kills over the course of the set, while Gordon had twice that at 14. Gordon ended up edging out KSC 25-22. The Owls played at their most dominant in the fourth set. Once KSC built up a 9-8 lead, the team did not look back, maintaining a lead throughout the rest of the set and winning it 25-14.
The performance was made possible with a total of 13 kills and four service aces across the set. However, the fifth and final set was another contentious one. The Owls began with a strong five- point run, but Gordon hit back with a five-point run of its own.
After exchanging the lead back and forth, the Owls led by as much as 12-8 before the set and the game started to slip away.
A pivotal three-point run at the end of the set proved to be the nail in the coffin, with KSC falling 16-14 and losing the match 2-3. After these matches, it puts the Owls at a 5-7 record. They have the chance to take the win at their next game, which they are hosting Colby- Sawyer’s Chargers at 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 25.
Hayley Doda can be contacted at
hdoda@kscequinox.com
