By: by Jason Hanes
KENNESAW, Ga. - After a season full of record-breaking performances and milestone achievements, it all comes down to one weekend for the Kennesaw State volleyball team.
The Owls start their final weekend of regular season play against Jacksonville this Friday night in Jacksonville, Fla., at Swisher Gym. First serve is set for 7 p.m. Saturday, the Owls will wrap up the regular season with a contest against North Florida, scheduled to start at 3 p.m.
Kennesaw State enters the weekend with a 10-8 mark in the Atlantic Sun Conference, tied with Campbell for fifth place in the standings. The top six teams qualify for the A-Sun Championships Nov. 19-21 in Fort Myers, Fla. East Tennessee State is currently in seventh place, one match behind the Owls and the Camels with a 9-9 record.
"We can't worry about what other teams do this weekend," said KSU head coach Karen Weatherington. "We know if we win two matches this weekend, we're in the tournament no matter what."
Asjia Stokes currently leads the Owls and is fifth in the A-Sun with 3.87 points per set. The senior from North Chicago, Ill., native has 333 kills and 21 aces. Last weekend, Stokes led the Owls with 16 kills in a 3-2 loss to Florida Gulf Coast, followed up by 12 kills in a 3-0 sweep of Stetson.
KSU will face a Jacksonville team that has been battered by injuries but has still managed to put together a 17-8 mark overall and a 13-5 mark in A-Sun play. Two wins by Jacksonville will earn the Dolphins the No. 2 seed into the A-Sun Championships and a bye into the semifinals. Brooke Singleton leads the Dolphins with 3.47 points per set, with Aidan Yeager just behind with a 3.45 points per set total.
In the earlier match this season, Jacksonville defeated KSU 3-1 at the KSU Convocation Center Oct. 3. However, the Dolphins have dropped three of their last four matches, including a 3-2 loss at the hands of ETSU last weekend.
Saturday, the Owls will face a North Florida squad they defeated 3-0 at the KSU Convocation Center Oct. 2. The Ospreys have lost seven of their last eight A-Sun matches, but three of those matches were in five sets, while two went four sets. Kaley Read powers the Ospreys attack with 3.80 kills per set.
