By: by Jason Hanes
KENNESAW, Ga. - As Kennesaw State volleyball hosts a pair of matches this Friday and Saturday against Atlantic Sun Conference foes Jacksonville and North Florida, the Owls will also conduct a school supply drive to raise supplies for Clarkdale Elementary School, which was flooded during the recent storms which ravaged the metro Atlanta area.
"While the floods had an effect on Kennesaw State, they had an even bigger effect on the students of Clarkdale Elementary," said KSU head coach
Karen Weatherington. "We knew we wanted to do something to help the first opportunity we had, and we hope the KSU community will join us as well."
Fans are asked to bring school supplies for donation to Clarkdale Elementary. There will be bins at the front of the Convocation Center where fans can deposit their donated items. Fans will receive admission to the matches for $2 if they participate in the school supply drive.
The Owls (7-6, 2-4) will also need the support of a large home crowd to help against a pair of tough teams. North Florida (7-7, 2-4) will roll into Kennesaw for a 7 p.m. Friday first serve having played three straight five-set matches, beating Stetson, falling to Florida Gulf Coast, and topping Florida A&M. The Ospreys completed a four-match homestand with a 3-1 mark to move back to .500 on the season. Kaley Read leads UNF with 4.09 kills per set, the second-best mark in the A-Sun.
Saturday, the Owls will host Jacksonville at 3:30 p.m. The Dolphins have won five straight entering the weekend to move to 8-5 overall, with a 4-2 mark in A-Sun play. Last weekend, JU defeated Florida Gulf Coast in five sets on Friday night, then swept Stetson Saturday afternoon. Shelley Walroth leads JU's back-row defense with a conference-best 5.23 digs per set.
The Owls enter the weekend off since Saturday's 3-0 loss at Lipscomb. The loss was the first match the Owls have played this year that was completed in three sets, as all of the previous matches the Owls played have gone either four or five sets.
Asjia Stokes enters the weekend third in the A-Sun in kills per set with 3.61. The senior has already cleared the 200-kill mark on the season and needs just six kills to reach her career high in kills for a season, set last year with 208.
With 210 digs already on the season, Selina O'Leary has pushed her KSU-career record to 915 digs over her three-plus years with the Owls. The senior has recorded 20 digs in a match on four occasions this season, a program record.
This weekend's matches will be streamed via the ASun.TV webstreaming service. Dave Albert will call the action.
