By: By Joseph Feldman
NOTES | TOURNAMENT CENTRAL | LIVE FEED (For Belmont game) | LIVE STATS
TALKING POINTS
» The Owls open up the 2014 season at the Belmont Invitational with head coach Keith Schunzel entering his second season. They will take on former Atlantic Sun Conference foe Belmont on Friday, August 29 at 7:30 p.m. The match will be broadcasted on the OVC Digital Network.
» After having a senior laden team in 2013, the Owls welcome in six freshmen to the squad for the 2014 campaign.
» Next weekend, the team will return home and host a tournament. The 2014 Kennesaw State Invitational will feature Elon, UNC Asheville and Purdue, the eighth ranked team in the AVCA Division I Preseason Coaches Poll. The Owls home opener will be against Elon on 7:30 on Friday, September 5.
» After hosting the A-Sun Tournament in 2013, the Owls will head to Fort Myers, Florida this year to try and claim their first conference championship.
THE COMPETITION
Belmont
Belmont is coming off of a season where they finished 19-14 and 12-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference to finish second.
Last Meeting: KSU lost 3-0 at the end of the 2011 season in Belmont's last season in the A-Sun Conference
Evansville
Evansville finished last season with a 9-20 overall record and 4-14 in conference.
Last Meeting: In KSU's inaugural season, the Purple Aces beat the Owls 3-1.
Youngstown State
Coming off of a season where they finished 16-15 overall and 7-7 in conference, they were picked to finish seventh in preseason Horizon League poll.
Last Meeting: First Meeting
» NEWS AND NOTES
This Week in KSU Volleyball
» The Owls start off the 2014 year at the Belmont Invitational, taking on Belmont, Evansville and Youngstown State.
» On the following Tuesday, the team will take the short bus ride up to UT-Chattanooga for a match at 6 p.m.
» Next weekend, the Owls will host the Kennesaw State Invitational again. The home opener will be against the Elon Phoenix on Friday, September 5 at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, the team will play UNC Asheville at noon and finish the tournament off with Purdue.
Last Time Out
» After missing the A-Sun tournament in 2012, the Owls returned as a six seed, but faultered in the first round against Lipscomb in four sets.
» KSU then traveled to UGA for a match the day after Thanksgiving to finish off its 2013 season.
KSU as a Team
» The Owls were picked to finish in a tie for sixth in the league with Stetson. Lipscomb is the preseason favorite to claim the title this season.
» The team returns eight players with four of those starting last season. With the six freshmen coming in, the team will be very young on the court at times.
» The team returns its leaders in kills, points, blocks, aces and kill percentage.
KSU Individually
» Kelly Marcinek, the 2013 A-Sun Freshman of the Year, was picked to the All A-Sun Preseason Team. Last season, she led the team with 402 kills and averaged 3.53 kills per set.
» With the new freshmen, there have been a lot of position battles for starting spots going on in the preseason. One of the most competitive spots is at the setter position between junior Michelle Witt and freshman Kristi Piedimonte.
» The formidable duo of Cierra Royster and Megan McGuinness both return as middle blockers. Last season, both combined for 155 blocks.
» Junior Toure Hopkins is coming off of a season that saw her do a little bit of everything. She led the team with 30 aces, had 211 kills, 289 digs and finished with 266.5 points.
» Sophomore Fanise Cannon is expected to step up and be a big part of the team this season. Last season, Cannon saw limited action and accumulated 33 kills, 20 service aces and 141 digs.
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 -
