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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Four Owls recorded double-digit kills, but it would not be enough as the Kennesaw State volleyball team dropped a hard fought match to North Florida, 19-25, 25-22, 27-25, 25-23, on the road Sunday afternoon.
 
How it Happened: The Owls (15-7, 8-2) and Ospreys (10-15, 3-7) battled early and often as KSU managed to gain the upper hand behind back-to-back kills from Dani Ballou to cap off a 4-0 run and give the Owls an 8-5 lead. KSU answered each UNF run to maintain its lead before another 3-0 run, featuring two kills from Lauren Chastang sandwiched around a block by Quin Sutphin, gave the Owls an 18-15 advantage. The Owls pushed their lead to five and eventually clinched the set victory following two more 3-0 runs capped off by a kill by Ballou to secure the 25-19 victory.
 
After falling behind 4-0 at the start of the second set, KSU answered with a 4-0 run of its own to tie the set back up. The two teams traded runs, tied 10-10, until the Ospreys ripped off a 5-0 run to lead 15-10. The Owls managed to pull back within two, 17-15, following two kills from Emma Schurfranz, but UNF kept KSU at bay, pushing its lead back to four, 21-17. KSU looked to tie the set late, fending off two straight set points, but the difference was too much as UNF's Emma Dixon laid down a kill to take the set, 25-22, and even the match.
 
The Ospreys took another early lead to open the third set, jumping out to a 10-5 advantage following a 4-1 swing. KSU eventually tied the set behind a 5-1 run, capped off by kills from Madeline Johnson, Ballou and Schurfranz to make it 16-16. The Owls kept that momentum rolling with a 5-0 run to earn a 21-17 lead. The Owls earned set point, 24-20, following a kill from Chastang, but UNF refused to go down, going on a 5-0 run to pull ahead 25-24. The Ospreys stole the set from underneath KSU, closing it out on a 7-1 run to win 27-25 and take a 2-1 advantage.
 
The fourth set was yet another grind-it-out battle as the Owls clawed their way in front 9-7 behind a 6-1 run capped off by back-to-back kills from Chastang. North Florida answered with a 6-1 run of its own to re-take the lead 13-10. The Ospreys pushed their lead to as high as five points, 18-13. KSU chipped away at UNF's lead, pulling within one, 23-22, thanks to back-to-back blocks by Schurfranz and Jasmine Brown. The Owls managed to fend off set point by UNF, 24-23, but could not tie it up as a kill from UNF's Miriam Stingl shut the door on KSU.
 
Notes: Lauren Chastang recorded her 11th double-double of the season with 12 kills and 16 digs … Dani Ballou led the way with 18 kills, one shy of her career-high, hitting a career-high .536 … Emma Schurfranz recorded a career-high 15 kills, finishing the match with a .500 hitting percentage … Quin Sutphin was the fourth Owl in double-figures with 13 kills … Shelby Dennis was two digs shy of her career-high with a team-high 17 … Karlee Groover finished with 14 digs … Lexi Broadwater logged 59 assists in the match … as a team, the Owls hit .326 for the match, the second straight match hitting over .300 and fifth of the season … KSU committed 22 attack errors compared to 10 for UNF … the Ospreys finished the match hitting .307, only the third time this year a team has hit over .300 against KSU.
 
Quotes: Head Coach Keith Schunzel
On missed opportunities…
"We had plenty of chances in this match. We played a terrific first set, and were up 24-20 in set three to go up 2-1 in the match, but didn't close it out. UNF simply made more plays than us today in big moments when they needed to. Our team is going to be just fine. We'll get home and get back at it on Tuesday."
 
On Dani Ballou and Emma Schurfranz…
"Dani [Ballou] and Emma [Schurfranz] played two of their best matches of the year for us and were both consistently good the entire game."
 
Up Next: It is a quick turnaround for the Owls as they return to the Convocation Center to host NJIT Tuesday morning at 11 a.m. for Education Day.