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KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State volleyball team gave the KSU faithful a spectacular show in its return to the Convocation Center Friday night, defeating Stetson in three sets, 25-16, 25-18, 25-13, to record its third straight sweep and improve to 3-0 in conference play.

How it happened: KSU (12-4, 3-0) spread the ball around early as five different Owls recorded kills on the way to a 7-3 lead. Stetson (9-5, 1-1) rallied to within one, 7-6, as both teams proceeded to trade points. KSU gained some separation thanks to back-to-back kills from senior Liesl Engelbrecht and a kill from Lauren Chastang to take a 16-12 lead.

The Owls closed out the set on a 6-0 run, capped off by a kill from Chastang sandwiched between two kills from freshman Dani Ballou, to win the opening set, 25-16.

The Owls and Hatters went point-for-point to open the second set, until the Owls pulled in front following a 4-0 run, 9-6. KSU put its foot on the gas shortly afterwards, taking a nine-point lead, 18-9, off a 9-1 run. Stetson chipped away at the Owls' lead, 23-17, but kills from Sydni Shelton and Ballou put it away, giving KSU a 2-0 lead at the break.

KSU dominated the start of the third set, racing out to a 12-3 lead. The Owls didn't let up, building their lead to as high as 12 points, 20-8, following a kill from Chastang.

KSU was lights out in the third set, recording a .457 hitting percentage to win the set 25-16. Shelton recorded six of her 11 total kills in the final set.

Notes: Six Owls recorded five or more kills on the night, led by Lauren Chastang with 12 … Chastang's double-digit kill streak now stands at 14 matches … Sydni Shelton finished with a .526 hitting percentage and 11 kills, her third time this year hitting above .500 … freshman Dani Ballou also had an impressive night, hitting .615 for the match with nine kills … junior Lexi Broadwater nearly earned her fifth double-double of the season with 39 assists and nine digs … Broadwater also added five kills and two aces, bringing her season total to 20 … The Owls' 52 kills on the night is tied for fifth-most all-time in a three-set match.

Quotes: Head Coach Keith Schunzel
On tonight's match…
"Stetson is a really improved team, we've been preaching it all week and I think it got through. We had a really nice week of training, we got better this week when we practiced, and I think we came ready to play tonight. A lot of good performances, we served and passed it great. We played really well."

On Dani Ballou's play…
"She's been getting better every week. She's been put into a role that probably wasn't in the plans, but every week she is getting better. She is still competing while she is learning, which is the big thing, a lot of time young players forget to compete while they are trying to figure out the game and learn because it's going pretty fast. But she is competing and getting better, I mean 9 of 13, hitting .615 those are unbelievable numbers."

On the atmosphere in the Convocation Center…
"Great crowd, it's been so awesome building this program. We had a bunch of alumni come back tonight and we'll have more alumni on Sunday. The momentum of this program is building every year and it's so fun and it's what the players are doing and how hard they are working. They are reaching out to people in the community and we are doing a heck of a job, I think, of getting people here and giving them a good show so I'm really proud of this team."

Up Next: The Owls close out the weekend, hosting North Florida on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the Convocation Center.