Georgia Challenge
Thursday, September 3
1 p.m. – Kennesaw State vs. Georgia Southern
Friday, September 4
4 p.m. - Kennesaw State vs. Mercer
Location: Ramsey Center | Athens, Ga.
Links: Live Stats | Game Notes
Social Media: Twitter | Facebook
 
Game Preview
After sweeping the opening weekend, the Owls will hit the road for the first time in the 2015 season heading to Athens, Georgia for the Georgia Challenge. The tournament consists of five teams from the state of Georgia, and KSU will play Georgia Southern on Thursday, August 4 at 1 p.m. and Mercer on Friday, August 5 at 4 p.m.
 
Kennesaw State Team Notes
• The Kennesaw State volleyball team got off to the program's second 3-0 start in its short 10-year history. The best start came in 2012, when that team started 4-0.
• Not only did the Owls start the season 3-0, but they have yet to lose a set during the young 2015 season. There have been two sets where an opponent reached 20.
• Freshman Sydni Shelton was named Atlantic Sun Co-Freshman of the Week after finishing the weekend off with 34 kills hitting .623 and being named the Kennesaw State Invitational MVP. Against Jacksonville State on Saturday night, Shelton led the team with 17 kills hitting .708. She had 53 attacks the entire weekend and only made one error.
• This was the second time in three years, Schunzel's team has swept the Kennesaw State Invitational. In his first year in 2013, the Owls went 4-0.
• After the first weekend, one of the things that impressed Schunzel the most was how balanced the attack was in all three matches. Kennesaw State hit at least .327 as a team and had at least five players hit over .300 in every match. Shelton led the team in two of those matches hitting .538 and .708 and Rachel Taylor led the team against Savannah State hitting .583.
• The offense wasn't the only thing in sync on the opening weekend. KSU's defense was also strong holding its three opponents to a combined -.25 hitting percentage. 
• KSU's kill leader the past two seasons, Kelly Marcinek, got off to a hot start with 27 kills hitting .414 for the three games. Taylor was the third best attacker for the weekend finishing with 20 kills hitting .390. Taylor also leads the team with 10 blocks and five of them came in the Saturday night match against Jacksonville State.
• Kristi Piedimonte averaged 11.25 assists per match last weekend finishing with 90 in the three matches. For the 2014 season, she averaged 8.77 per set.
 
Next Up
The Owls will fly into Chicago and head to Valparaiso for their tournament. The first match is against the home team on Friday, September 11 at 12:30 p.m. The next day, KSU plays Elon at 9 a.m. and Loyola Chicago at 2 p.m. before heading back to Kennesaw.
 
Stat Leaders (2015)
Kills: 34, Sydni Shelton
Sets: 90, Kristi Piedimonte
Digs: 39, Katarina Morton
Blocks: 10, Rachel Taylor
Aces: 4, Katarina Morton
Attack Percentage: .623, Sydni Shelton
 
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 2015 home volleyball contests are free throughout the year.