Wednesday, Oct. 17
7:30 p.m. (ET) – Kennesaw State (16-4, 7-0) at Lipscomb (11-8, 6-1)
Location: Nashville, Tenn. | Allen Arena

Match 1 – Live Stats | ESPN+
Match Notes

Match Preview
The Kennesaw State volleyball team heads to Nashville for a mid-week match at Lipscomb Wednesday evening.

The Bison are one of the top teams in the ASUN, sporting a 6-1 conference record. Lipscomb's only loss in league play came against Florida Gulf Coast, 3-1.

Despite winning all three meetings against Lipscomb last season, the Bison have had the Owls number in the past, holding a 19-5 all-time series advantage.

Lipscomb currently leads the conference in kills per set (13.73) with senior Carlyle Nusbaum pacing the team at 4.21 kills per set. Nusbaum is the only player in the ASUN to average over four kills per set.

Junior setter Morgan Elmore has been another crucial piece of the Lipscmob attack, averaging 9.85 assists per set. She ranks second in the conference and is the only ther player, besides Lexi Broadwater, t average ver nine assists per set.

Last Time Out
The Owls flew through Jacksonville this past Friday, recording their fourth conference sweep. KSU hit a phenomenal .461 against the Dolphins, marking a season-high and the third best hitting percentage all-time.

Before the match, the Owls honored five-year-old Rubi Brunsman. Rubi is in the midst of battling pediatric cancer and was the guest of honor for the fourth annual Griffin's Game. The Kennesaw community rallied together to raise nearly $7,000 for Rubi and her family.

In the opening set, KSU jumped out to an 11-4 lead. The Owls extended their lead to as high as 23-11 following a 5-0 run which featured two aces from Lexi Broadwater.

After taking the opening set, the Owls kept the pressure on, building another double-digit lead in the second set, 17-6. KSU recorded a .591 hitting percentage, committing zero errors on its way to a 25-12 victory.

Coming out of the break, Jacksonville adjusted to KSU's attack, taking a 4-1 lead. Both teams traded points until a 6-1 run gave KSU a 14-10 lead. The Owls remained in front, finishing the set on a 6-0 run capped off by a kill from Jasmine Brown to seal the sweep.

A Strong Start
With the win over Jacksonville, the Owls matched their best start to conference play. KSU opened the ASUN slate 7-0 in 2016, before dropping its first conference match to none other than Lipscomb.

The Owls have won 19 consecutive conference matches, dating back to Oct. 7 of last season, a span of 373 days. Since the 2016 season, KSU is 32-3 in league matches.

Swinging For The Fences
The Owls were on fire against Jacksonville, recording a .461 hitting percentage. That mark ranks third all-time at KSU, and is only the fourth time in history KSU has hit above .450 in a match.

Four Owls hit over .500, three over .700, led by Liesl Engelbrecht with a .714 hitting percentage. KSU committed a season-low seven errors, marking the second time this season the Owls recorded less than 10 errors in a match.

KSU is currently second in the ASUN with a .249 hitting percentage. The Owls have hit .250 or better in six of the last seven matches, and .300 or better in three of those matches.

Setting The Tone
Junior Lexi Broadwater continues to set at a record pace this year, remaining among the nation's best. Broadwater ranks 17th in the NCAA with 852 assists on the year. She is the only player in the ASUN with over 800 assists, with only three other players above 600. She is the second fastest Owl in history to reach 800 assists in a season (75 sets).

Broadwater is currently ninth on the KSU single-season list and fifth on the career assists list with 940. Broadwater is one of five players in KSU history to log over 900 assists in her career.

She has recorded 40 or more assists in 12 matches this season, setting at a clip of 10.92 assists per set. That average leads the ASUN and ranks #st nationally. 

Building Blocks Towards Success
Kennesaw State remains one of the top blocking teams in the ASUN and in the nation. The Owls have logged 189 total blocks so far this year to rank third in the conference and 33rd in the NCAA. KSU's current mark is good enough for eighth on the all-time single-season list. 46 of KSU's blocks this season have been solo blocks, which ranks fifth all-time in a single-season.

The Owls current rate of 2.42 blocks per set ranks third in the league and would rank first in a single-season, surpassing last year's mark of 2.32.

Three Owls are currently ranked in the ASUN's top-10 for total blocks, Quin Sutphin (No. 5), Liesl Engelbrecht (No. 6) and Sydni Shelton (No. 10). The trio has combined for 121.5 of KSU's total blocks this year.

Sutphin leads the way with 78 blocks, placing her eighth on the KSU single-season list, followed closesly behind by Engelbrecht with 77.

Engelbrecht is KSU's career blocks (323) and block assists (280) leader while ranking second in solo blocks (43). The Duluth, Ga., native is the only Owl in history to record over 300 blocks in her career.

Sutphin and Engelbrecht are both averaging over one block per set so far this season with Sutphin ranking second in the conference with a 1.20 average.

All in all, five Owls have recorded at least 30 blocks on the year.

Pocket Aces
In a battle of the ASUN's top serving teams, KSU shined from the line against Jacksonville. The Owls recorded seven aces against the Dolphins, led by Lexi Broadwater with five.

The Owls' seven aces marks the 12th time this season KSU has recorded five or more aces in a match. KSU leads the ASUN and ranks 20th in the nation with 123 total aces, averaging 1.58 per set.

Broadwater leads the team, and the conference, with 29 aces on the year. That mark ranks seventh in a single-season. Her five aces against JU is tied for the most all-time in a three-set match at KSU.

Six Owls have logged 10 or more aces this season. Karlee Groover is second on the team with 23, placing her fourth in the league.

Killing The Game
Sophomore Lauren Chastang's 17-match streak of double-digit kills came to an end in KSU's last match against Jacksonville. She led the team with eight kills, marking only the second time this season she has recorded less than 10 kills.

Chastang ranks second in the ASUN with 279 total kills, and is one of four players in the league to average over three kills per set (3.58). She needs just 21 kills to crack the KSU single-season top-10 list.

A three time offensive player of the week recipient, Chastang has recorded nine double-doubles so far this year, including two of the last three matches.

Digging The Owls Out Of Trouble
Sophomore Karlee Groover has been dynamite for the Owls in her first season as the team's libero. Groover has logged 327 digs on the year to rank fourth in the ASUN. She is one of only four players in the league with over 300 digs.

Following her 18 digs against Jacksonville, Groover is now tied with Camille Pedraza (2010) for 10th on the KSU single-season list.

The Newnan, Ga., native is currently digging at a clip of 4.19 digs per set. That mark ranks fourth in the ASUN and would place her sixth all-time in a single-season.

So far this season, Groover has a .962 reception percentage, committing only 15 errors on 399 attempts.

What's All The HullaBallou?
Freshman Dani Ballou has ben a welcome addition to the KSU rotation this season. The Clearwater, Fla., native has been named the ASUN Freshman of the Week twice already this season.

This is the first time an Owl has received multiple freshman of the week awards since Sydni Shelton in 2015. Shelton was named freshman of the week four times during the season, on her way to garnering All-ASUN Second Team honors.

Ballou has recorded 97 kills on the year making her just three kills shy of becoming the sixth freshman in KSU history to record over 100 kills in their inaugural season.

Shut Down Defense
The Owls have smothered opposing teams this season, holding opponents to a .156 hitting percentage. That mark ranks second in the ASUN and 15th in the NCAA.

KSU has held 14 opponents below a .200 hitting percentage and four below .100.

Since the program's inception, the Owls have held opponents below a .200 season hitting percent five times, including the last three seasons. The current percentage would rank second all-time behind last season's mark of .150.

Owls on ESPN+
Wednesday's match will air live on ESPN+. Fans can purchase the digital platform for $4.99 a month or $49.99 for a year's subscription that provides access to all events broadcast on the network.

Next Up
Following Wednesday's match, the Owls return home to host North Alabama and NJIT this Friday and Sunday, respectively.

Stat Leaders
Kills: 279, Lauren Chastang
Assists: 852, Lexi Broadwater
Digs: 327, Karlee Groover
Blocks: 78, Quin Sutphin
Aces: 29, Lexi Broadwater
Attack Percentage: .308, Liesl Engelbrecht
 

Related Videos

Now Playing:

• Play Video