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KSU Athletics/Kyle Hess

VB: Owls Return To The Convocation Center To Host Stetson, UNF

9/27/2018 11:44:00 AM

Friday, Sept. 28
7 p.m. – Kennesaw State vs. Stetson

Sunday, Sept. 30
1 p.m. – Kennesaw State vs. North Florida

Location: Kennesaw, Ga. | Convocation Center

Match 1 – Live Stats | ESPN3 
Match 2 – Live Stats | ESPN+
Match Notes


Match Preview
After a five-match road swing, the Kennesaw State volleyball team returns to the Convocation Center for its ASUN home-opener, hosting Stetson Friday, followed by North Florida Sunday.

The Hatters head into Friday's match with a 9-4 record, winning their conference opener in four sets over Jacksonville. Stetson is under the direction of second-year head coach Yang Deng. 

Stetson returned 12 of its players from last year's squad which finished 3-23. Redshirt junior Brianna Schmid leads the returners this season, ranking second in the conference for hitting percentage (.344) and third in blocks per set (1.15). 

The Owls carry a five-match winning streak into Friday's contest, having swept the Hatters each time.

KSU welcomes North Florida for its second match of the weekend Sunday. The Ospreys are 6-13 on the year and 1-2 in conference play after defeating Jacksonville 3-0 in their last match for their first ASUN win. UNF will face Lipscomb in Tennessee Friday before facing the Owls.

Head Coach Kristen Wright is in the midst of her first indoor season at UNF. On the court, the Ospreys are led by junior Taryn Griffin. She ranks fifth in the ASUN, averaging 2.96 kills per set. Griffin is one of two players in the ASUN, including KSU's Lauren Chastang, to have over 200 kills on the year.

Last Time Out
The Owls burst into conference play the past weekend, recording dominant back-to-back sweeps at NJIT and North Alabama.

It was a shaky start for the Owls in the opening set at NJIT. After taking an 11-4 lead in the first set, the Highlanders responded with a 10-1 run to take the lead. KSU fought to get back within one, 22-21, but NJIT managed to reach set point leading by two. The Owls fended off two straight set points, rallying to win the set following a 4-0 run, 26-24. 

KSU buckled down in the second set, hitting an impressive .455 for the set while holding NJIT to -.133. The Owls recorded six of their eight total blocks in the second set, recording a dominant 25-11 victory. 

The Owls continued to shine in the third set, building their lead to as high as 21-11. Sophomore Lauren Chastang recorded six of her 14 total kills in the third set as KSU hit .344 to earn a 25-16 win and the sweep.

The momentum continued to roll for KSU in their second match of the weekend against new ASUN member North Alabama. 

After a brief back-and-forth start, the Owls began to pull away behind two 3-0 runs to take a 15-8 lead. KSU cruised to a 25-15 opening set victory thanks in large part to Quin Sutphin who recorded seven kills while hitting an amazing .875. As a team, KSU had a .517 hitting percentage in the opening set.

The Owls jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the second set. KSU built a 10-point lead over the Lions, 22-12, as freshman Jasmine Brown made her first appearance of the match. Brown recorded all three of the Owls final kills to close out the set with a 25-13 win.

UNA attempted to steal a set, taking an early 6-5 lead, but KSU responded with a 7-1 run to take a 12-7 advantage. The Owls kept North Alabama at bay the rest of the way, closing out the match on a 5-0 run to record their second straight sweep.

Let's Have A Block Party!
The Owls recorded 15 blocks over the past weekend to remain one of the top blocking teams in the ASUN. As a team, KSU is averaging 2.48 blocks per set to rank second in the conference, just behind FGCU (2.49). The Owls are second in total blocks with 149 on the year, trailing only North Florida (152) who has played four more matches than KSU. The Owls' 149 blocks ranks 12th in the nation. 

KSU owes a large part of its blocking prowess this season to its middle blocker duo of senior Liesl Engelbrecht and sophomore Quin Sutphin who both rank in the top-5 in the ASUN for blocks.

Sutphin has been on fire as of late, recording 22 blocks over the last four matches. She is currently averaging 1.18 blocks per set to rank second in the conference.

Engelbrecht currently leads the team with 65 total blocks. Already KSU's all-time career blocks leader, she recently became the first Owl in history to record over 300 blocks. She currently has 311 career blocks, nearly 100 more blocks than Rachel Taylor (223) who is second all-time. She is also the all-time career leader in block assists (121) while third in career solo blocks (37). 

Engelbrecht is second in the ASUN with 65 total blocks this season and 34th in the NCAA.

Engelbrecht and Sutphin are two of the four players in the ASUN who have recorded 60 or more blocks this season.

KSU is the only team in the ASUN with five players ranked in the top-20 for total blocks. Following Engelbrecht and Sutphin, Sydni Shelton (44) is ranked 11th, Lauren Chastang (36) is 15th and Lexi Broadwater (29) is tied for 19th. 

Setting Herself Up For Greatness
Junior Lexi Broadwater recorded 43 assists in KSU's win at North Alabama, marking her ninth match this year with 40 or more assists. She is currently one of 10 players in the country averaging 40 or more assists per match (41.9). Her 43 assists against the Lions is tied for third-most all-time in a three-set match.

Broadwater leads the ASUN and ranks 10th in the NCAA with 628 assists on the year. The Fayetteville, Ga., native ranks 10th in KSU single-season history, needing only nine more assists to move past Rachel Albright (2009) for ninth. Following her performance at North Alabama, she is now ranked 5th all-time at KSU with 716 career assists.

She is currently setting at a clip of 10.47 assists per set to lead the conference. Her current average would rank third in single-season history and make her one of five players in KSU history to average 10 or more assists per set in a season. 

Killing The Game
Sophomore Lauren Chastang continues to plague opposing teams, surpassing 200 kills on the year following KSU's match at North Alabama. Her 209 total kills ranks third in the ASUN with at least one game in hand on the top two players.

Chastang has recorded 10 or more kills in 13 straight matches, and 14 of 15 this year. A two-time ASUN Player of the Week already this season, she is averaging 13.9 kills per match. Her current average of 3.48 kills per set ranks fourth in the ASUN and would rank fourth in KSU single-season history.

Maximizing Efficiency
The Owls are making the most of their chances so far this season with a .240 hitting percentage. KSU currently ranks second in the ASUN for hitting percentage. The current percentage would rank first in single-season history, surpassing last year's mark of .230. 

Senior Sydni Shelton leads the way for the Owls with an impressive .305 hitting percentage, which ranks eighth in the conference. Of the seven players ahead of Shelton, only two have registered more than 100 kills, both of whom will make appearances at the Convocation Center this weekend - Hao Jin of Stetson and Taryn Griffey of North Florida. 

Shelton has hit over .300 in seven matches this season. If she continues at this pace, she will rank among the top-10 in KSU single-season history.

On the flipside, the Owls are one of the top defensive teams in the country, holding opposing teams to a .157 hitting percentage. Only six teams have recorded a hitting percentage of over .200 against KSU with four teams hitting below .100. The Owls are second in the conference for opponent hitting percentage and 28th in the NCAA.

It Starts At The Service Line
The Owls are two aces shy of hitting the century mark this season. KSU's 98 aces leads the ASUN and ranks 12th in the NCAA. Five different Owls have registered 10 or more aces this year, led by Lexi Broadwater with 18. Broadwater and Karlee Groover (17) currently rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in the ASUN.

KSU leads the conference averaging 1.63 aces per set. 

#ProtectTheNest
The Owls had their 15-match home winning streak snapped the last time they were in the Convocation Center, falling to Auburn 3-2. Despite that bump in the road, KSU has ferociously protected its home court. Under Head Coach Keith Schunzel, the Owls are 43-16 (.729) at home. 

KSU has only lost one conference home-opener in program history, falling to Belmont in 2011, 4-1. The Owls are 8-1 all-time in conference home openers.

The Convocation Center is one of the toughest arenas in the ASUN this year, with KSU currently leading the conference in average attendance (819).

Next Up
Following this weekend's matches, KSU hits the road for one of its toughest ASUN road trips of the year. The Owls take on Florida Gulf Coast in a rematch of last year's conference championship Friday (Oct. 5) before heading to Liberty to take on the Flames Sunday (Oct. 7). 

Stat Leaders
Kills: 209, Lauren Chastang​​​​​​​
Assists: 628, Lexi Broadwater​​​​​​​
Digs: 240, Karlee Groover
Blocks: 65, Liesl Engelbrecht​​​​​​​
Aces: 18, Lexi Broadwater​​​​​​​
Attack Percentage: .305, Sydni Shelton

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