Friday, Oct. 19
7 p.m. – Kennesaw State (17-4, 8-0) vs. North Alabama (2-15, 0-8)
Sunday, Oct. 21
2 p.m. – Kennesaw State (17-4, 8-0) vs. NJIT (4-19, 2-6)
Location: Kennesaw, Ga. | Convocation Center
Match 1 – Live Stats | ESPN+
Match 2 – Live Stats | ESPN+
Match Notes
Match Preview
The Kennesaw State volleyball team continues a packed week of matches, opening the second half of conference play at home against North Alabama and NJIT. The Owls begin the weekend against North Alabama Friday at 7 p.m., before hosting NJIT Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Owls are coming off a big five-set win at Lipscomb Wednesday to remain undefeated in ASUN play and take sole possession of first place in the conference.
UNA is still searching for its first conference win of the year after the Lions comeback fell just short in their last match against North Florida. The Lions rallied from two sets down to send the match to a fifth set, but could not close it out, falling 15-8.
North Alabama is led by junior libero Genesis Benitez who ranks fifth in the league, averaging 3.9 digs per set. As a team, the Lions are fourth in the conference with a 14.38 digs per set average.
KSU welcomes NJIT for its second match of the weekend. The Highlanders square off against Lipscomb Friday before making the trip to Kennesaw.Â
NJIT is another one of the top digging teams in the conference, averaging 15.25 digs per set to rank fourth in the ASUN. Senior libero Adriana Nieto has racked up 401 digs on the year, the only player in the conference with 400 or more digs. She leads the league averaging 5.01 digs per set.
Last Time Out
The Owls battled Lipscomb to a five-set victory behind a season-high 21 blocks.
The tempo was set right out of the gates as Lipscomb jumped out to a 7-2 lead. KSU eventually tied the set as both teams proceeded to go point-for-point. The first set saw 16 ties and eight lead changes as the Bison fought off three set points to tie it up 24-24. The Bison eventually gained the upper hand following a kill and a block to win the set 31-29.
The Owls bounced back in the second set, taking advantage of Lipscomb errors to build a 17-8 lead. The Owls maintained their 10-point lead the rest of the way, capping off the set with a block from Quin Sutphin and Sydni Shelton to win 25-14. KSU recorded six blocks in the second set, holding Lipscomb to a -.105 hitting percentage.
Both teams went back-and-forth in the third set with KSU earning the edge, 15-13, following a 4-0 run. Lipscomb eventually tied the set at 24 behind a 5-1 run, but two kills from Lauren Chastang put the set away, 27-25, to give KSU a 2-1 lead.
In another tight set, the Owls and Bisons fought for position, recording 12 ties in the fourth set. Lipscomb gained the lead, 20-17, following a 3-0 run and eventually earned set point behind a 4-0 run. KSU fended off two set points, but could not overcome the deficit as Lipscomb won 25-22 to send the match to a fifth set.
KSU played a stellar fifth set, earning a 9-4 lead following four straight kills from Dani Ballou and Chastang. The Owls cruised to a 15-9 set victory, hitting .444 in the final set while committing zero errors.
Putting Up A Wall
Sophomore Quin Sutphin has been dominant at the net this season. The Fort Mill, S.C., native broke the all-time single-match record with 12 blocks at Lipscomb. She also became the first Owl in history to record a double-double with blocks and kills, logging 11 kills to go along with her 12 blocks.
So far this season, Sutphin has recorded 90 total blocks to rank third in the ASUN and fifth on the KSU single-season record list. She is one of three players in the league to record 90 or more blocks on the year.
Her current 1.29 blocks per set average ranks second in the conference and would break the single-season record if she continues at that pace.
We're Going Streaking
The win at Lipscomb marked the Owls best start to ASUN play in program history. KSU opened the 2016 conference slate 7-0 before dropping their first league match to Lipscomb.Â
The Owls have won 20 consecutive conference matches, dating back to Oct. 7 of last season, a span of 377 days as of Friday. Since the 2016 season, KSU is 33-3 in league matches.
KSU's current 11-match winning streak is the longest of the season and is one win shy of the longest winning streak in program history. The Owls have won 12 straight matches twice, once in 2016 and again in 2017.
Among The Nation's Best
As a team, the Owls are ranked in the NCAA's top-25 in five different categories.
KSU ranks 12th in the country and second in the ASUN this year, holding opponents to a .153 hitting percentage. The Owls have held 15 teams below .200, including four below .100.
The Owls' 210 total blocks leads the league and ranks 13th in the NCAA. Only 25 teams in the country have logged over 200 blocks so far this season.
KSU broke 1,000 assists on the year at Lipscomb to rank 16th in the NCAA with 1,053. This is the 11th straight season KSU has recorded more than 1,000 assists.
The Owls have also broken the century mark in total kills, logging 1,119 on the year. That mark is good enough for 17th in the country.
Despite recording only one ace at Lipscomb, KSU remains among the top-25 in the NCAA with 124 on the year to rank 24th. Â
Killing The Game
Sophomore Lauren Chastang recorded her 10th double-double of the season at Lipscomb, recording 21 kills and a career-high 19 digs. She's had three double-doubles in the last four matches and is tied for the lead in the ASUN for total double-doubles.
With her 21 kills against the Bison, Chastang became the 10th player in KSU history to record 300 kills in a season. She is now tied with Alyssa Lang (2010) for 10th on the KSU single-season record list.
Chastang leads the conference and ranks 39th in the NCAA for total kills.Â
Allow Me To Assist You
Junior Lexi Broadwater set a career-high with 58 assists at Lipscomb. She has recorded 50 or more assists in three of the last four matches, five times this year. The Fayetteville, Ga., native ranks sixth in the NCAA with 910 assists this season. Only seven players in the country have recorded over 900 assists. The No. 2 setter in the ASUN has 757 assists so far this year with three more matches played.
Broadwater moved to eighth on the KSU single-season list, passing Kristi Piedimonte's 2017 mark of 901.
She is currently setting at a clip of 10.96 assists per set to rank 31st in the NCAA. That mark would rank first all-time in a single-season. Â
Building Blocks Towards Success
KSU has been tremendous up front all season long with five Owls recording at least 30 blocks on the year. The Owls have two of the top-5 blockers in the ASUN in Quin Sutphin and Liesl Engelbrecht. Sutphin ranks third in the league with Engelbrecht close behind at No. 4. Sydni Shelton is also among the top-10 in the conference, tied for ninth with 62 blocks this season.
The Owls have logged 210 total blocks so far this year which is good enough for third all-time in a single-season.Â
The Owls current rate of 2.53 blocks per set ranks second in the conference and 34th in the nation.Â
Sutphin and Engelbrecht rank fourth and fifth respectively on the KSU single-season blocks list.
Engelbrecht is KSU's career blocks (332) and block assists (289) 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 1.29 average.Â
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 346 digs on the year to rank fourth in the ASUN. She is one of only four players in the league with over 300 digs.
Groover took sole possession of 10th place on the KSU single-season digs list following her 19 digs at Lipscomb.
The Newnan, Ga., native is currently digging at a clip of 4.17 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 17 errors on 447 attempts.
What's All The HullaBallou?
Freshman Dani Ballou has been 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.Â
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.Â
Ballou became just the sixth freshman in KSU history to record over 100 kills in their inaugural season (105) after logging eight kills to go along with a career-high six blocks against the Bison.
Owls on ESPN+Â
This weekend's matches 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 this weekend's matches, the Owls head to the Sunshine State for back-to-back matches against North Florida Friday (Oct. 26) and Stetson Saturday (Oct. 27).
Stat Leaders
Kills: 300, Lauren Chastang
Assists: 910, Lexi Broadwater
Digs: 346, Karlee Groover
Blocks: 90, Quin Sutphin​​​​​​​
Aces: 29, Lexi Broadwater​​​​​​​
Attack Percentage: .298, Sydni Shelton
