Friday, Sept. 14
12 p.m. – Kennesaw State vs. Florida A&M
7:30 p.m. – Kennesaw State at Troy

Saturday, Sept. 15
2 p.m. – Kennesaw State vs. Jacksonville State

Location: Troy, Ala. | Trojan Arena

Tournament Central
Match 1 - Live Stats 
Match 2 – ESPN+ | Live Stats
Match 3 – Live Stats
Match Notes

Match Preview
The Kennesaw State volleyball team looks to break out of its four-match slump this Friday and Saturday, heading to Alabama to close out non-conference play at the Troy Classic.

The Owls open the tournament Friday with Florida A&M at 12 p.m., before closing out the day against hosts Troy at 7:30 p.m. KSU takes on Jacksonville State in the final match of the weekend Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.

Friday's match marks the first meeting in program history between FAMU and KSU. The Rattlers are searching for their first win of the season, standing at 0-11. FAMU is led by first-year head coach Gokhan Yilmaz, who was promoted from Associate Head Coach before the start of the season.

The host Trojans enter the tournament at 5-4, riding their own four-match losing streak after dropping all three matches at the Big Orange Bash at Clemson last weekend. A very young squad, Troy has only one senior on its team. The Trojans are led by sophomore Cheyenne Hayes who ranks third in the Sun Belt Conference averaging 3.61 kills per set. Freshman setter Amara Anderson leads the conference and ranks 20th in the NCAA with 11.33 assists per set.

Rounding out the tournament field is Jacksonville State, sporting a similar 6-4 record. JSU also has a first-year coach at the helm in Todd Garvey. He leads a balanced attack of Gamecocks that feature five different hitters with 75 kills or more through the first 10 matches. 

Last Time Out
The Owls were on the brink of shutting the door on SEC foe Auburn in their last outing, but the Tigers managed to stay alive and grind out a five-set win over the Owls. KSU was plagued by miscues late in the match, recording 30 total errors on top of 14 service errors in the match. 

KSU won the opening set, utilizing a 5-0 run to take the lead 13-11. Auburn pulled to within one, 21-22, but the Owls were able to hold the Tigers off to win 25-23.

In the second set, both squads went point-for-point until a kill from freshman Dani Ballou sparked a 7-0 run to give the Owls an 18-12 lead. KSU used the six-point advantage to cruise to a 25-20 second set victory.

Out of the intermission, the Owls jumped out to a 7-2 lead, but Auburn answered with a 7-0 run to put themselves ahead, 9-7. Both squads continued to trade points in a set that saw 13 ties and seven lead changes, heading down to the wire. The Owls and Tigers each fought off set points tied at 26. Auburn would go on to win the set, 28-26, following back-to-back errors by KSU.

Deadlocked throughout most of the fourth set, KSU managed to tie the match at 20 after a quick 3-0 run. The Owls fought off two set points to keep the set level, 24-24, forcing an Auburn timeout. The Tigers' Shaina White came out of the break to record back-to-back kills, tying the match at 2-2 following the 26-24 set victory.

The Owls could not find their groove in the deciding set, committing five errors in the opening minutes to give Auburn a 6-2 advantage. KSU rallied to within two, 11-9, but Auburn closed out the match on a 4-0 run to record the victory.

Three Owls recorded career-highs in kills, Lauren Chastang (19), Quin Sutphin (15) and Dani Ballou (10), as KSU's underclassmen stepped up for big performances.

KSU's loss to Auburn snapped a 15-match home-winning streak. The Owls last home loss before Tuesday was against Lipscomb on Oct. 21, 2016.  

Stacking Up Against The ASUN
As a team, the Owls rank third in the ASUN in kills per set (13.15), assists per set (12.37) and blocks per set (2.29). All three averages would rank second all-time in a single-season at KSU if the year were to end today.

The Owls are currently hitting at a clip of .228 percent, placing them fourth in the conference. The top four teams, Florida Gulf Coast, Stetson, Lipscomb and KSU, are all separated by less than .010 percent.

Set'Em Up, Knock'Em Down
Junior Lexi Broadwater has been phenomenal so far in her first year as KSU's full-time setter. She finished with 46 assists against Auburn, her second straight match, and seventh of the season, with 40 or more assists. 

Her 433 assists on the year leads the ASUN and ranks 11th in the nation, just 33 assists shy of NCAA-leader Jordan Thompson of Cincinnati (465). Broadwater needs a little more than 100 assists to crack the single-season top-10 list at KSU.

This feat could be accomplished during KSU's upcoming tournament if she continues to assist at her current pace of 10.56 assists per set. Her double-digit assists per set average ranks first in the conference and 51st in the NCAA. It would also rank second in KSU single-season history, just shy of Kristi Piedimonte's 2017 average of 10.60.

Building From The Ground Up
Despite falling to Auburn in five sets, the Owls' sophomore and freshman classes stepped up to post some massive numbers.

Sophomores Lauren Chastang and Quin Sutphin lit up the stat sheet, combining for over half of KSU's total kills. Chastang broke her career-record in kills, set in KSU's last two home matches, with 19 kills. She has now recorded double-digit kills in eight straight matches and nine of KSU's 10 matches. She currently ranks second in the ASUN with 142 total kills. The BayMinette, Ala., native also recorded her third straight, sixth of the season, double-double, adding 10 digs against the Tigers.

One of the Owls top blockers this season, Sutphin put on an attacking display Tuesday night breaking her career-high in kills for the second straight match. She peppered the Tigers with 15 kills, marking the first time in her career she has recorded 10 or more kills. She finished the match hitting .387 percent.

KSU also got some big production from its freshmen, most notably Dani Ballou. Stepping in to replace the injured Maddie Jones, Ballou saw some of her most significant action in an Owl uniform. The Clearwater, Fla., native played all five sets, recording 10 kills, her first career double-digit performance. She also added one block and one ace during the match.

Bri Becerra made the fifth start of her young career against Auburn, posting a career-high 16 digs. It was only the third time this season Becerra has recorded double-digit digs, posting 12 at Samford and 11 at Pitt. She is currently third on the team with 89 digs this season, just behind Chastang with 91.

Jasmine Brown continued to make a name for herself coming out swinging in the fourth set. Brown made her first appearance of he match in the penultimate set, blasting five kills on five swings, tying her career-high. Her only error on the night came in the fifth set, bringing her hitting percentage down to .667 for the match. Although she has only appeared in seven sets so far in her freshman campaign, Brown has recorded 12 kills on 16 attacks while committing only two errors for a blazing .625 hitting percentage.

A Brick Wall
The Owls have two of the top-five blockers in the ASUN in senior Liesl Engelbrecht and sophomore Quin Sutphin. The middle blocker duo has combined to record 45 of KSU's 94 total blocks so far this season. Both Owls average over one block per set, Engelbrecht (1.08), Sutphin (1.06), to rank fourth and fifth in the ASUN, respectively. 

Engelbrecht's 43 blocks ranks third in the ASUN and 52nd in the nation. She has recorded four or more blocks in seven of the last eight matches, including a season-high seven against No. 12 Washington. Her 289 career blocks total is 66 more than the next closest Owl, Rachel Taylor (2014-17) with 223.

After recording only 11 blocks her freshman season, Sutphin has improved dramatically in her second year at KSU. Her 38 total blocks places her in a tie for sixth in the ASUN with Stetson's Brianna Schmid. Sutphin is the second-highest ranked underclassmen in the ASUN for blocks, trailing only North Florida's Devyn Wheeler (sophomore), who has 42 blocks with one more match played.

So far this season, five Owls, including Engelbrecht and Sutphin, have recorded 20 or more blocks. Senior Sydni Shelton has logged 26 blocks, followed by Lauren Chastang with 24 and Lexi Broadwater with 20. 

To Be The Best You Have To Play The Best
The Owls have one of the toughest schedules in the ASUN this season.

KSU is currently ranked 76th in the latest RPI poll, the highest ranked team in the ASUN, with Stetson as the next highest at 138. The Owls face five opponents ranked in the top-100, compared to Lipscomb (8) and Liberty (6). The Bison and Lady Flames have two extra top-100 RPI matches due to the fact that both schools play KSU twice.

This season, three of KSU's four losses have come against teams ranked in the top-50. The average opponent RPI for KSU's four losses on the year is 27. 

Owls on ESPN+ 
Friday's match against Troy 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, KSU dives into conference play, traveling to New Jersey to take on NJIT in its ASUN opener Friday (Sept. 21) at 6 p.m. 

Stat Leaders
Kills: 142, Lauren Chastang
Assists: 433, Lexi Broadwater​​​​​​​
Digs: 158, Karlee Groover
Blocks: 43, Liesl Engelbrecht​​​​​​​
Aces: 13, Lexi Broadwater​​​​​​​
Attack Percentage: .301, Sydni Shelton

For more information on Kennesaw State athletics, follow @KSUOwlNation on Twitter or like Kennesaw State Owls on Facebook and Instagram.

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