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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Kennesaw State volleyball team capped off the regular season in dominant fashion, sweeping Jacksonville, 25-21, 25-21, 25-13, Saturday evening to head into the conference tournament 23-6 overall and 14-2 in conference play.
 
KSU's 14 ASUN victories this year marks a program best, surpassing last season's 13 league wins.
 
How it happened: The Owls flew out of the gates in the first set taking a 6-1 lead over Jacksonville (5-24, 3-13). The Dolphins chipped away at the early lead to get within one, 16-15, following a 3-0 run. 
 
KSU re-gained some breathing room, leading 20-16 following a 4-1 run as the two teams proceeded to trade points. The Owls eventually took the opening set, 25-21, behind a kill from Liesl Engelbrecht and a setting error from the Dolphins.
 
After the Owls took an early 5-2 lead to open the second set, Jacksonville responded to tie the set 7-7. KSU and the Dolphins went point-for-point throughout the second set, recording 13 ties and three lead changes during the back-and-forth set. KSU finally got the upper hand with a 5-0 run to earn set point, 24-19. 
 
Engelbrecht helped to record four of the Owls five points during the run, logging two kills while partnering with Lauren Chastang and Lexi Broadwater for two blocks. After JU fought off two set points, Chastang put the set to rest with a kill to give KSU a 2-0 lead.
 
Jacksonville looked to respond in the third set, jumping out to a 5-3 lead, but the Owls flipped a switch as Dani Ballou recorded three kills and a block to help KSU go on a 6-0 run and take a 9-5 lead. 
 
KSU seized control from there on out building a 21-9 lead following a 7-1 run which featured back-to-back aces from Karlee Groover. The Dolphins pulled it back within 10, but KSU closed out the set on a 3-1 run capped off by a kill from Ballou to secure the set victory, 25-13, and the sweep.
 
Notes: The Owls recorded a blazing .462 hitting percentage against Jacksonville, which ranks third all-time in a single-match … Six Owls hit over .300 for the match led by Sydni Shelton who recorded seven kills on 10 attacks for a .700 hitting percentage … Shelton is now only four kills away from recording her 1,000th career kill … Lauren Chastang recorded her third straight match in double-figures with a team-high 11 kills … Liesl Engelbrecht also hit double-digits for the second match in a row, finishing with 10 kills and five blocks … Karlee Groover broke 30 aces on the year (33) with four against the Dolphins, tied for third-most all-time in a three-set match … Groover's 33 aces is tied for second on the all-time single-season record list … Lexi Broadwater extended her single-season assists record to 1,245 with 39 assists on the night … With eight digs against JU, Groover moved to fourth on the all-time single-season record list with 465 digs this year.

Quotes:Head Coach Keith Schunzel
On the KSU's regular season…
"I'm so proud of our team for the regular season that we put together. Certainly we won a bunch of games which is always fun, but how we've gone about our journey has been the most impressive thing. This group of 15 women has truly been a team all year all year and it's been an absolute pleasure to coach them. We've stuck together through health and injury, through good times and bad, and we've stayed the course, together, which is not an easy thing to do. Those are great feelings for a leader to have."
 
On the upcoming ASUN Conference Tournament…
"Now we obviously get home and look to have a good week of preparation as we await the the winner of Lipscomb and North Florida."
 
Up next:The Owls now turn their sights to the ASUN Conference Tournament, hosted by Kennesaw State this year. With the No. 2 seed secured in the Owls last match, KSU earns a first round bye and will await the winner of Lipscomb and North Florida in a semifinal match scheduled for Friday (Nov. 16) at 7:30 p.m.