By: by Jason Hanes
KENNESAW, Ga. - Winners of four consecutive matches, the Kennesaw State volleyball team will look to move to 3-0 in Atlantic Sun Conference play with a 7 p.m. Friday night match against East Tennessee State.
The Owls (7-1) have won their first two A-Sun matches of the season for the first time in program history. Sept. 8, the Owls defeated Mercer at the Convocation Center, 3-1, for the first time in six meetings between the schools. Saturday night in Spartanburg, S.C., the Owls dropped the first set but came back to defeat USC Upstate, 3-1.
Asjia Stokes was named A-Sun Player of the Week Monday afternoon for her solid play in leading the Owls to the two wins over conference foes. Stokes had 36 kills for the week, averaging 4.50 kills per set, tops in the conference.
Callie Churchwell also had a solid week for the Owls, earning 21 kills and hitting at a clip of .436 against the Bears and the Spartans.
ETSU is 2-1 in conference play following wins over Upstate and Stetson and a home loss to Florida Gulf Coast. The Lady Bucs fell in four tough sets to Chattanooga in non-conference play Tuesday night in Johnson City, Tenn. Whitney Cogburn and Erin Ryan each had 12 kills to lead ETSU in the loss.
This is the first week for the Owls that they have fit into the more traditional weekly schedule that comes with the conference play. With no more tournaments looming until the end of the season, the Owls now slide into a typical Friday and Saturday schedule, with an occasional Tuesday match as well.
"It's been good for the team to get into a rhythm and see how this will play out the rest of the season," said KSU head coach
Karen Weatherington. "We'll still have a couple of Tuesday matches, but most of the remainder of the season, we'll just have Friday and Saturday matches during the week."
The Owls will battle Campbell on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. The Camels will enter the weekend with a 1-1 A-Sun mark and a 6-4 record overall, with both marks to change after Friday night's match between the Camels and Mercer.
Following Saturday's match, KSU will take on Georgia State in a non-conference match. Due to a scheduling conflict at the Convocation Center, the match will be contested at North Cobb High School. Admission will be free for the event.
