Category | Sports

Volleyball clinches trip to postseason

Published on November 17, 2009 by John Morbitzer

In its first season of eligibility, KSU volleyball (17-11, 11-9) has qualified for the fifth seed in the A-Sun championships.

“I love that we made the tournament in our first year of eligibility. It’s an experience this team will cherish forever. On average about 4,000 women play Division I volleyball and only a small percentage play in post-season competition.  We recognize the magnitude of our opportunity and are thrilled to play next week.  I hope it is just the beginning of a wonderful tradition for KSU volleyball,” head coach Karen Weatherington said.

A final weekend road trip took the Owls to Jacksonville, Fla. to take on conference opponents Jacksonville University and the University of North Florida. After losing the first match to the Dolphins three sets to zero, KSU needed a win against the Ospreys to ensure a trip to the postseason.

With the game tied at two sets apiece, KSU took a 6-2 lead in the fifth before UNF rallied to take an 11-10 lead. Scoring two kills by Sabrita Gulley and Chelsea Denesha, the Owls regained the lead 12-11, and an error by UNF pushed the lead to two. The Ospreys responded with a block to cut the lead before KSU was the beneficiary of a bad set, forcing a match point. Callie Churchwell’s block sealed the win, and assured a trip to Ft. Myers.

“I was so proud of my team to turn it around in less than 24 hours.  We were filled with lots of emotion going into the final weekend,” Weatherington said. ”There was lots of talk about seeding for the [Atlantic Sun Tournament] and it was distracting, but we fought hard and persevered. That’s what championship volleyball is all about, and that’s what we are playing.”

Asija Stokes led the team with 17 kills and Sabrita Gulley followed with 15 of her own. Selina O’Leary recorded 27 digs to tie her school record of stellar defense.

The match in Jacksonville did not bode well for KSU, losing in straight sets 25-15, 25-17, 25-9. The offense was hard pressed to produce with a .034 attack percentage for the match. Sabrita Gulley led the team with 18 digs, and Asija Stokes had a team-high nine kills. The loss left the Lady Owls in a tie for fifth place in conference, but the rebound win against UNF assured the season would continue.

“I am confident in my team’s ability to play to win and execute our game plan to play defense.  We know we face an estimable opponent in Belmont.  They represented the A-Sun last year in the [NCAA tournament], and have experienced post-season play,” Weatherington said. “But for us this season first has been about us defining ourselves and not letting anything limit our possibilities. We have done more than a lot of people expected, but we knew we would do good things from the beginning.”

KSU will return to action Thursday, when the Owls will take on the Belmont Bruins in the quarterfinal round of the A-Sun championship on the Florida Gulf Coast University campus in Ft. Myers, Fla.