NOTES | LIVE STATS (NKU) | VIDEO (NKU) | LIVE STATS (LIPSCOMB) | ESPN3 (LIPSCOMB)
TALKING POINTS» The Kennesaw State volleyball team's final two matches of the conference season are at Northern Kentucky on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday against first place Lipscomb at 3 p.m.
» As the season has gone on, Anaiah Boyer has gotten stronger and stronger. She has had a double-double in half of the Atlantic Sun matches and has seven of them on the year. In the conference matches, she leads the team in kills and is second on the team in blocks and digs.
» The Owls have won four A-Sun Player of the Week awards this season. Three of them have been Freshman of the Week with Boyer winning once and Kristi Piedimonte claiming the award twice. The fourth was Katarina Morton winning the Defensive Player of the Week.
THE COMPETITION
Northern Kentucky
Northern Kentucky (16-10, 5-7) had a 12-19 record in 2013 and finished 7-11 in conference play.
The Norse are currently one game ahead of the Owls in the A-Sun standings.
Head Coach Liz Hart is in her fourth season as head coach.
Lipscomb
Lipscomb (18-7, 11-1) 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. In conference, their only loss came to Northern Kentucky where the Norse overcame a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2.
Lipscomb is led by Brandon Rosenthal, who is in his 12th season.
» NEWS AND NOTES
Last Time Out
» The Owls dropped both matches on their trip to Florida Gulf Coast and Stetson. FGCU won in three sets and Stetson beat the Owls in four sets.
Coach Schunzel on the Positives from FGCU
» "It felt like our team overall played pretty good volleyball most of the night tonight. We served well, we passed very well, our setter had a nice match and we gave ourselves quite a few chances to go on some point-scoring runs."
KSU as a Team
» The matches in A-Sun play so far have been nail biters for the Owls. Three of the four KSU wins have been in five sets, and until the loss to North Florida, Kennesaw State had been undefeated in conference matches that went the distance. For the season, the Owls are 4-2 in five set matches.
» The match against Jacksonville set a couple of season highs for the Owls with 216 attack attempts and the team had 108 digs. The previous highs for these categories were 193 against USC Upstate and 86 digs against Belmont in the opening match this season.
» Against Stetson, the Owls had four players reach double-digit digs as Morton led the way with 15, Hopkins had 14 and Boyer and Fanise Cannon each had 13. This was the first four-set match that KSU has had four players with double-digits digs. The other two matches this happened during were against Jacksonville where the team had 108 digs and the conference opener against USC Upstate. Both of those matches were five setters.
KSU Individually
» Kristi Piedimonte averages 8.76 assists per set this season and in conference matches averages 9.55. That clip in conference matches is fifth best for setters. Piedimonte is also very aggressive as she leads the team with a .288 attack percentage and has 104 kills on the season.
» Morton is third in the conference in digs per set averaging 4.40. In conference play, her level of play has gone up as she is averaging 4.80 digs per set, which is second in the A-Sun. She currently has the fourth most digs in a single season at Kennesaw State with 427 and is only 29 digs away from third.
» Piedimonte and Morton's service has been an offensive weapon for the Owls all season. Piedimonte leads the team with 34 and Morton has 29. The single-season record at Kennesaw State was 33 by Holly Knight in 2011.
» Senior Ria Ridley has received her most extensive action late in the year. Against USC Upstate, the senior posted a new career high in digs with 20. Her previous career high in digs was four. Against Jacksonville with the team needing her to step once again, Ridley had 21 kills hitting .263. Her previous career high in kills was 13.
» Kelly Marcinek leads the team in kills with 294 and averages 3.06 kills per set. That is the seventh best mark in the A-Sun. She is also tied for second on the team with 44 blocks.
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.
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