By: By Joseph Feldman
GAME NOTES | ESPN3 (NKU) | ESPN3 (LIP) | LIVE STATS TALKING POINTS» The Owls return home to face A-Sun Conference foes Northern Kentucky on Friday, October 3 at 7 p.m. and Lipscomb on Saturday, October 4 at 3 p.m.
» Against USC Upstate, KSU had five players that set new career highs in the match.
Kelly Marcinek,
Chade Martin and
Ria Ridley all posted career highs in kills while
Katarina Morton set a new mark in digs and
Kristi Piedimonte has a new career high in assists.
» Marcinek's 24 kills against Upstate not only set a career high, but also tied Kennesaw State's all-time kill record in a match. It was the second time this season and sixth time in her career she posted more than 20 kills.
» Morton joined the 30 dig club against USC Upstate. It was one dig away from tying
Camille Pedraza's record of 31.
THE COMPETITION
Northern Kentucky Northern Kentucky (10-4) had a 12-19 record in 2013 and finished 7-11 in conference play.
Up until the Norse lost to Lipscomb in their conference opener, they had a five match win streak.
Head Coach Liz Hart is in her fourth season as head coach.
Lipscomb Lipscomb (7-6) was the runner up in the Atlantic Sun in 2013 finishing with a 15-3 record during the season and advancing to the championship match in the A-Sun Tournament.
This season, the Bisons had a tough non-conference schedule where they beat Kansas and Missouri. The Jay Hawks were ranked in the AVCA top 25 at the time.
Lipscomb is led by Brandon Rosenthal, who is in his 11th season.
» NEWS AND NOTES
Last Time Out » Kennesaw State won a five set match against USC Upstate to move to 1-0 in conference play. There were several great individual performances that helped guide the Owls to the hard fought victory on the road.
Promotions » It is Family Fun Night on Friday against Northern Kentucky. All kids under the age of 12 will get free popcorn and there will be inflatables that they can play on.
» Saturday afternoon, there will be a free post-game youth clinic put on the by the coaches and players.
Coach Schunzel on Getting a Big Win at USC Upstate» "I'm so proud of the fight that our team showed tonight. At times, we played as well as we've played all year and at times we played very average, but our team stuck together throughout the match and kept a positive attitude and found a way to win a league match on the road which is always hard to do. We had some incredible performances from individual players. Kelly Marcinek matched a school record with 24 kills, many of them late in the match and Kat Morton dominated the back court with 30 digs and passed lights out."
KSU as a Team » For the second match this season, the team accumulated over 80 kills. The first time came in a four setter against Belmont where the team had 86 digs and last Saturday the team finished with 81.
» KSU set two season highs against Upstate. They finished with 70 kills and tied their season mark with 66 assists.
» The Owls have never beaten Lipscomb in volleyball.
KSU Individually » Over the last three matches, Morton has had 68 digs averaging 22.67 per match and 5.67 in each set.
» Ridley set a new career-high in kills with 13. Her previous best was seven twice this season.
»
Anaiah Boyer has quickly become second on the team in kills with 108 and third on the team in blocks with 19. Through the first five matches, she had seven kills and two blocks. In the ten matches since, she has accumulated 101 kills and 17 blocks.
» Piedimonte piled up another double-double against USC Upstate with 57 assists and 12 digs. That is her fourth of the season.
» Along with being such a strong libero, Morton also adds to the offense with her serve. She leads the team with 21 aces. The most she has had in a match is four against UNC Asheville.
To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State volleyball news follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsVB or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook. Fans are reminded that tickets to all 2014 home volleyball contests are free throughout the year. - #GoKSUOwls -
