Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (HTML)

TROY, Ala. – The Kennesaw State volleyball team had to claw its way back from behind twice against tournament hosts Troy, but in the end the Owls fought their way to a five set victory, 12-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-15, 15-7, to cap off the first day of the Troy Classic Friday night.

The win caps off a perfect day for KSU at the Troy Classic after opening the day with a 3-0 sweep of Florida A&M.

How it happened: The Owls (8-4) fell behind early as Troy (4-6) took advantage of KSU's errors for an 11-2 lead. KSU committed six errors in the opening minutes of the match. The Trojans built their lead to as high as 19-5 as KSU struggled to find their groove. Troy went on to win the set 25-12 as the Owls finished the set hitting -.074 with 10 errors.

KSU settled down in the second set trading points with the Trojans tied 10-10. The Owls finally started to pull away following a a 6-1 run to make it 21-16. The sophomore duo of Lauren Chastang and Quin Sutphin had two kills each during the run.

KSU closed the set out on a 3-0 run capped off by an ace from Bri Becerra. Sutphin recorded seven of her 12 kills in the second set.

The Owls were aggressive to open the third set, recording two aces and two blocks on their way to a 6-2 advantage. Troy regained the lead with a 5-0 run capped off by a block from the Trojans' Savannah Moore to make it 8-7.  

A second 5-0 run would put the Trojans in front for the final time, 14-11. The Owls got as close as two, 20-18, but Troy kept KSU at bay earning set point following a 3-0 run. KSU fended off two set points, but could not overcome the deficit falling 25-21.

With their backs against the wall down 2-1, KSU fought to take a 12-8 advantage off a 6-1 run capped off by an ace from freshman Jessie Cohen. The Owls kept the pressure on, extending their lead to 15-9 following back-to-back blocks from Sutphin. Leading 20-15, KSU closed out the set on a 5-0 run with Cohen serving up two aces, including the set-clinching point, to send it to a fifth set.

Troy looked to gain the upper hand in the final set, jumping out to a 4-1 lead, but seniors Sydni Shelton and Liesl Engelbrecht answered for KSU. The two combined for two blocks with Shelton adding two kills and Engelbrecht one kill for a 6-0 run to put KSU ahead 8-5.

The Owls finished the match off in dramatic fashion, ripping off another 6-0 run that included two more blocks from Engelbrecht, and capped off by yet another ace, this time from Karla Radillo, to record a 15-7 set victory. Engelbrecht stood tall for five blocks in the fifth set.

Notes: As a team, the Owls recorded a season-high 18 blocks against Troy, one shy of the five set single-game record … KSU logged 10 aces on the night, the fourth time this season it has earned double-digit aces … freshman Jessie Cohen led the way with three aces while Bri Becerra and Karlee Groover added two a piece… Three Owls recorded seven or more blocks, Liesl Engelbrecht (10), Quin Sutphin (8) and Sydni Shelton (7) … Engelbrecht's 10 blocks is one shy of her career-high, and the all-time single-game record … Sutphin set a career-high with eight blocks, nearly recording a double-double with 12 kills … Lauren Chastang extended her double-digit kills streak to 10 matches with 13 kills … Shelton added to her season-high seven blocks with 10 kills, her sixth double-digit kill match of the season … The Owls are now 3-2 this season in five set matches.

Quotes: Head Coach Keith Schunzel
On his thoughts about the match…
"Really proud of our team. We learned a lot of things about ourselves tonight and pulled out a solid road win in the process. Troy had fire in their eyes, which we knew would be the case, and all credit to their players and staff, who did a great job of preparing for this match and punching us right in the mouth to start. We had to respond in set two, and to our team's credit, we did."

On players stepping up…
"it was an up and down match statistically for both teams but we had some really nice performances attacking and blocking from Quin Sutphin and Sydni Shelton. Groover did what she's been doing just about every match, putting up terrific passing and digging numbers and leading our team. And I thought Lexi did a really nice job keeping our team calm and in good positions to score as the match went on." 

Up next: The Owls close out the Troy Classic against Jacksonville State Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.