KENNESAW, Ga. – Jax State volleyball fell 3-1 on the road against Kennesaw State Friday evening.
 
The Gamecocks (9-10, 3-4) took the first set, but Kennesaw (11-6, 5-2) responded with three-straight set wins to take the match. Kayla Williams led the Gamecocks with 19 kills and a .256 hit percentage. Williams also had a pair of service aces and four digs. Amaya Tolentino had the next most kills with nine.
 
Charlee Solomon led the way with 31 assists. She also tallied seven digs in the match. Luci Wilkinson had a team-best 11 digs, Sanni Rantanen paced the Red-and-White with four aces, and Keyauna Linwood had a team-high three blocks. As a team, Jax State notched 38 kills, seven aces, six blocks, 36 assists, and 32 digs against the Owls.
 
In the first, the two teams went blow-for-blow early on until Jax State went on a 5-1 run sparked by a Williams kill to gain a 14-12 advantage. Kennesaw later scored two quick points to tie it, but another Williams kills made it 21-20 Gamecocks. Linwood capped off a late 4-0 scoring run to help Jax State claim a 25-21 first set win.
 
The score was tied 3-3 in the second before Kennesaw scored six straight points to go ahead 9-3. Williams later went back-to-back with kills and Rantanen scored an ace to make it 12-9 Owls. The Owls then went up 23-15, but a service error by Kennesaw and a Rantanen ace made it 23-17. Kennesaw went on to win the second set 25-19.
 
Kennesaw State opened the third set with a 6-1 early lead. With the score 7-4, Kennesaw went on a 4-0 run to go up 11-4. A quick 3-0 run by the Gamecocks ended with a Williams ace to make it 11-7. Madison Konopka put Gamecocks within four with a service ace just after the halfway point of the set. Tolentino scored the final point for the Red-and-White with a kill before Kennesaw clinched the third 25-17.
 
In the fourth, Tolentino put the Gamecocks ahead 6-5 with a kill early on. The Owls answered with a 5-0 run to go up 10-6. After a quick score for Jax State thanks to a Kennesaw service error, the Owls scored four more in a row to extend their lead to 14-7. Jax State went on a 4-0 run capped by a Tolentino kill to make it 20-15 Owls late. The Gamecocks scored three-straight to make it 24-22, but the Owls took the fourth set 25-22 to win the match.
 
Jax State faces Kennesaw State again Saturday at 1 p.m. central (2 p.m. eastern) inside VyStar Arena.
 
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