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KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State volleyball team outlasted Lipscomb in a five-set grind it out battle, 23-25, 25-23, 26-24, 21-25, 15-13, Friday night to advance to its second straight ASUN Conference Championship.
 
Four Owls finished with double-digit kills led by sophomore Lauren Chastang with 21.
 
How it happened: Both teams came out fired up with hopes of squaring off against FGCU in Saturday night's tournament final. Lipscomb (18-12, 12-4) got the upper hand early, recording the first three points of the set. After falling behind 7-4, The Owls (24-6, 14-2) settled down and rattled off the next five straight points to pull in front 9-7, but the Bisons answered right back with a 4-0 run of their own to re-take the lead.
 
Lipscomb remained in front throughout the set as the Owls attempted to break through. KSU eventually pulled within one, 20-19, behind a kill from Quin Sutphin. The Owls managed to tie the set at 22 following a 3-0 run, but the Bisons eked out the opening set, 25-23, following a kill from Logan Gish.
 
The second set played out in a very similar fashion with Lipscomb gaining the early edge, 7-4. KSU eventually earned the lead behind a 5-1 run to make it 12-10. After the Bisons evened the set at 12, the teams proceeded to go point-for-point down to the wire.
 
Tied 22-22, KSU recorded three of the next four points, including two final kills from Chastang to win the set, 25-23, and even the match.
 
Out of the intermission, Lipscomb once again took an early 3-1 lead, but the Owls responded with a 5-0 run capped off by back-to-back kills from Lexi Broadwater to pull ahead 7-4. KSU built its lead to as high as six points, 13-7, behind a kill from Chastang. Lipscomb would not go away though, chipping away at KSU's lead to eventually tie the set 17-17.
 
The Owls gained some breathing room with a 3-0 run to make it 20-17, maintaining that three-point lead to reach set point 24-21. Lipscomb fought off three straight set points to tie it up 24-24, but a kill from Chastang followed by a Bison error gave the Owls the set victory.
 
It was another back-and-forth start in the fourth set before Lipscomb gained the upper hand 14-10 after a 7-1 run. The Owls fought to tie the set, 18-18, following a kill from Dani Ballou, but Lipscomb recorded four of the next five points to lead 22-19. Lipscomb's Carlyle Nusbaum recorded two of the Bisons final three points, capping off the set with a kill to send the match into a fifth set.
 
In the final set, Lipscomb once again jumped out to a 3-1 lead, but a 4-0 run for the Owls, featuring two kills from Chastang, gave KSU a 6-4 advantage. The Owls managed to maintain their two-point lead as both teams proceeded to trade points.
 
Lipscomb finally broke through with a 3-0 run to take an 11-10 lead, but a Bison error followed by a thunderous kill from Sydni Shelton gave the Owls back the lead 12-11. After both teams knotted the set at 13-13, Shelton recorded another kill to earn match point before a block from Liesl Engelbrecht punched KSU's ticket to Saturday's final.
 
Notes: This is the third time in the last four years, second straight, that the Owls have reached the ASUN Tournament finals … Lauren Chastang's team-leading 21 kills marked the third time this season she has recorded 20 or more kills … Quin Sutphin finished with 12 kills, the third time in the last four matches she's reached double-figures, and a team-high five blocks … Sydni Shelton became the fourth Owl in history to record 1,000 career kills after logging 10 kills against the Bisons … Liesl Engelbrecht was the fourth Owl in double-figures with 10 kills to mark her third straight match with double-digit kills … Lexi Broadwater had a stellar all-around match recording 55 assists, her eighth match this year with 50 or more assists, while logging six kills with a .750 hitting percentage, six digs and four blocks … the Owls 68 total kills in the match marked a season-high … with Lipscomb finishing with a .366 hitting percentage, it marked the first time this season the Owls have won a match with their opponent hitting .300 or better (1-3).
 
Quotes: Head Coach Keith Schunzel
On Lipscomb's play…
"I have nothing but unbelievable things to say about our opponent tonight, they played as well as a team could play tonight, and that was one of the highest-level college volleyball matches I have ever been a part of. I thought both teams laid their hearts on the line and in a way I'm sick to my stomach for those guys. They could not have played better and looser, they were so prepared… That was an incredible championship level night."
 
On the back-and-forth battle…
"The higher level volleyball you go the more it comes down to one play and tonight at the very, very end Sydni Shelton came up with a huge kill, Karla Radillo came up with a huge serve out of the timeout and Liesl Engelbrecht came up with the match winning block, and it was one of those matches. Early on it felt like it was going to come down to one play or two plays, and it did, and our group just kept believing and kept fighting. Frankly, Lipscomb could have won just as easily. Incredible match to be a part of and really proud of both teams, but really proud of our team certainly."
 
On big performances…
"I think when you get to this level and this time of the season you need your best kids to come up with their best performances. I've said it a couple times this year, Lauren Chastang with the ball at the end of the game, I'll take that bet any day of the week. Sydni was really good tonight, hitting over .300 and Liesl made some big blocks and had some big swings, hit over .300 with 10 kills. Quin Sutphin had a really nice night, came up with a couple huge blocks on Nusbaum late when we needed it. I'm blown away by the level of that match. Super proud of our team for pulling that out."
 
On facing FGCU in Saturday's final…
"In a way it's really good, because as well as Lipscomb played tonight, I think throughout the conference season us and Gulf Coast were the two best teams in the league. We had two heavyweight fights that we won on each other's home courts in the regular season, and I would expect tomorrow to be nothing different. They are really dangerous, they've got a huge block, they serve and pass it well. They've got a great right-side attacker who is leading the country in hitting percentage in Sharonda Pickering, but our guys are excited and they are going to be ready and we're going to put it all out there."
 
Up next: It's a heavyweight championship match as the two top teams in the ASUN meet in a rematch of last year's conference tournament final, with No. 1 FGCU and No. 2 Kennesaw State squaring off Saturday night at 7 p.m.