Tuesday, Sept. 11
7 p.m. – Kennesaw State vs. Auburn

Location: Kennesaw, Ga. | Convocation Center
Links - ESPN | Live Stats 
Social Media: Twitter | Facebook
Match Notes

Match Preview
The Kennesaw State volleyball team returns to the Convocation Center Tuesday night, looking to bounce back from a 0-3 weekend at the Panther Invitational, hosting SEC foe Auburn at 7 p.m.

Auburn heads to Kennesaw at 5-3, following back-to-back wins over Kansas and American to close out the Kansas Classic this past weekend.

The Tigers are led by a pair of freshman standouts that include outside hitter Taylor Rowland and setter Mica Allison.

Rowland currently ranks eighth in the SEC and leads the team with 92 kills, including a 23 kill performance in Auburn's five-set win over Kansas. She is one of two Tigers, along with senior Brenna McIlroy (80), to record more than 70 kills so far this year.

Rowland has a team-high 280 assists on the year. She ranks fifth in the SEC averaging 10.37 assists per set.

Last Time Out
The Owls battled their toughest opponents of the season at the Panther Invitational Friday and Saturday, recording their first losses of the season.

In the tournament opener, KSU took No. 13 Pitt to the limit in five sets. The Owls picked up the opening set victory by taking advantage of Panther miscues to tie the set at 17-17. KSU gained the edge late and back-to-back kills from senior Sydni Shelton put the nail in the coffin. The Owls held Pitt to -.033 percent hitting in the first set.

After a back-and-forth second set, KSU earned set point up 24-21, but Pitt buckled down and recorded three blocks to spark a 5-0 run to win the set, 26-24.

The Panthers dominated the third set, hitting a massive .519 percent to win 25-16. But KSU responded in the fourth, closing out the set on a 6-2 run to force a deciding fifth set.

Both teams went point-for-point early in the final set, but following the switch Pitt took control, scoring seven of the final eight points to win the set, 15-7, and the match, 3-2. The match marked the first time this year Pitt had been taken to a fifth set, having only dropped two sets total before Friday's match.

The Owls found themselves in another shootout to open the second day of tournament play against Dayton. Both squads traded points throughout each set, in a match that saw 27 ties and 12 lead changes over three sets.

The Flyers were able to gain the advantage over KSU, utilizing small runs midway through each set to gain some breathing room. KSU managed to pull it close, fighting off multiple set points in the first and second set, but couldn't gain the edge, falling in three sets, 20-25, 23-25, 23-25.

In the final match of the weekend, KSU faced yet another top-ranked team in No. 12 Washington.

The Owls came out fired up, racing out to an 8-3 lead in the first set. After the Huskies tied the set at 14, KSU broke the set open with a big 8-1 run. Liesl Engelbrecht put the set away with two kills to give KSU a 25-19 opening set win.

The second set came down to the wire with both teams going point-for-point. The Owls fended off two set points by the Huskies to tie the set, 25-25, but UW recorded the next two points to win the set and tie the match.

Washington came out of the intermission firing on all cylinders, taking an early 8-2 lead which they would build up to 17-11. UW put the set away, 25-19, behind a .318 hitting percentage.

The Owls found themselves in another 17-11 hole in the fourth set. KSU attempted to cut into the Huskies' lead with a late 4-0 run, but UW would put it away 25-20. KSU hit only .054 in the final set.

Kennesaw State Team Notes
KSU's win over Clemson extended the Owl's home winning streak to 15 matches. The Owls last home loss was against Lipscomb on Oct. 21, 2016, a total of 689 days. 

As a team, the Owls recorded nine blocks against Dayton, tied for fifth-most in a three-set match all-time. The Owls kept that momentum going against Washington with 13 total blocks, which is tied for fifth-most in a four-set match. So far this year, KSU has recorded 87 total blocks, ranking them second in the ASUN, just behind North Florida (88).

KSU continues to shine from the service line, adding another seven aces to their season total at the Panther Invite. As a team, the Owls have recorded 58 aces so far this year, placing them second in the ASUN, just behind Jacksonville with 59. Four Owls have recorded 10 or more aces on the year, Lexi Broadwater (13), Lauren Chastang (10), Maddie Jones (10) and Karlee Groover (10).

KSU is currently hitting .233 percent this season. The Owls are ranked third in the ASUN with Florida Gulf Coast, Stetson and KSU seperated by only .003 percent.

KSU matched its best start in program history after the win over Clemson. KSU began the 2015 season 6-0 before falling to Valparaiso. That squad reached the ASUN Tournament Championship for the first time in program history.

A Brick Wall
Senior Liesl Engelbrecht and sophomore Quin Sutphin have put up a wall at the net this year, combining for 74 of KSU's 87 total blocks so far this season.

After opening the year with a bang by breaking the KSU career blocks record at the Courtyard by Marriott Samford Invitational, Engelbrecht has yet to slow down. At the Panther Invitational, she recorded five or more blocks in all three matches, closing the tournament with a season-high seven blocks against No. 12 Washington. She currently leads the team with 39 blocks, placing her fourth in the ASUN. The Duluth, Ga., native extended her career blocks record to 275, 24 more than the next closest Owl (Rachel Taylor, 251).

Not to be outdone, Sutphin has already more than tripled her total number of blocks from her freshman campaign with 35 blocks. She has recorded four or more blocks in six of the last seven matches, logging a career-high seven blocks against High Point. She finished the Panther Invite with 12 total blocks, including a six-block performance against Washington. Sutphin also recorded a career-high nine kills against the Huskies.

The Century Mark
Two Owls hit triple digits on the year during the Panther Invitational. Sophomore Lauren Chastang earned her 100th kill of the season, while Karlee Groover surpassed 100 digs.

Chastang extended her double-digit kills streak to seven matches after recording 39 kills during the tournament, 15 against Pitt, 13 against Dayton and 11 against Washington. She has only had one match this year with less than 10 kills, recording nine against McNeese State. The BayMinette, Ala., native also finished the tournament with back-to-back double-doubles against the Flyers (13 kills, 10 digs) and Huskies (11 kills, 11 digs), giving her five on the year. Chastang currently ranks third in the ASUN with 123 kills.

Groover continued to dig the Owls out of trouble with 45 digs over KSU's three matches this past weekend, bringing her season total to 139. The sophomore libero has recorded 10 or more digs in eight straight matches, recording single-digit digs only once, in KSU's season-opener against Loyola-Chicago (7). Originally from Newnan, Ga., Groover is digging at a clip of 3.86 digs per set, the fourth highest per set ratio in the ASUN.

All-Tournament Caliber
Junior setter Lexi Broadwater was the sole Owl to be named to the Panther Invitational All-Tournament Team this past weekend. She averaged 44.3 assists over the three-match span, tying her career-high with 51 in KSU's opening match against No. 13 Pitt. The Fayetteville, Ga., native also dished out nine kills, 13 digs and six blocks during the tournament.

Broadwater has had six matches so far this season with 40 more assists. She currently sits at sixth all-time with 475 career assists, just behind Tara Dillon (2006-08) with 684. She leads the ASUN with 387 assists, averaging 10.75 assists per set so far this season. If she can maintain that average, it would rank first all-time in a single-season.

Pinpoint Accuracy
Senior Sydni Shelton closed out the Panther Invitational hitting a blazing .550 against No. 12 Washington for 13 kills. Her .550 hitting percentage ranks seventh all-time in a single-match at KSU.

So far this season, Shelton leads the team with a .311 hitting percentage, which would rank sixth all-time in a single-season. The Danville, Ala., native has hit over .300 percent in five matches this year, and is tied with Liesl Engelbrecht for second on the team with 86 total kills.

Owls on ESPN+
Tuesday'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 this weekend's tournament play, the Owls head to Troy, Ala., for three matches, opening play against Florida A&M Friday at 12 p.m. The Owls then take on hosts Troy in the nightcap, Friday at 7:30 p.m., before closing out the weekend against Jacksonville State Saturday at 2 p.m.

Stat Leaders
Kills: 123, Lauren Chastang
Assists: 387, Lexi Broadwater
Digs: 139, Karlee Groover
Blocks: 35, Liesl Engelbrecht
Aces: 13, Lexi Broadwater
Attack Percentage: .311, Sydni Shelton
 

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