Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (HTML)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Spurred on by a large cheering section, in to see Tennessee native Lanie Vantrease, the Kennesaw State volleyball team showed up in a big way to defeat Lipscomb in four sets, 25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 25-15, and remain undefeated in the ASUN.
 
Juniors Quin Sutphin and Lauren Chastang put in a pair of phenomenal performances to lead the Owls. Sutphin registered 15 kills and a season-high seven blocks all while hitting .429 for the match while Chastang logged her eighth double-double of the season with 12 kills and 10 digs, adding a career-high six blocks.
 
How it Happened: The Owls (11-5, 4-0) got started early, jumping out to a 6-1 lead following a 5-0 run to open the match. Lipscomb (5-9, 1-2) managed to pull within two, but a 3-0 run for the Owls capped off by an ace from Jessie Cohen gave KSU a 10-5 lead. The Owls maintained their five-point lead until a 4-0 from the Bisons cut the deficit to two once again, 18-16. Dani Ballou finally snapped Lipscomb's run to spark a 4-0 run for KSU which featured two blocks and a kill from Jasmine Brown. KSU kept the Bisons at bay the rest of the way to take the set 25-20.
 
The second set was a tight affair as both squads went point-for-point deep into the set. Tied 15-15, the Owls gained the edge following back-to-back kills from Ballou and Emma Schurfranz. With KSU maintaining a slim 23-22 lead, Lipscomb fought back to win the final three points and even the match 1-1 after a 25-23 second set victory.
 
The following set started off in similar fashion with both teams knotted at 9-9. The Owls seized control thanks to a 4-0 run featuring a kill from Sutphin, an ace from Chastang and a kill from Vantrease to lead 16-11. Leading by five the rest of the set, Chastang put the nail in the coffin with a solo block to give KSU a 25-19 set victory.
 
The Owls dominated the final set hitting .286 while holding the Bisons to a .000 hitting percentage. KSU jumped out to a 7-4 lead after a 6-0 run that saw three kills from Chastang, two from Supthin and an ace by Bri Becerra. The Owls pushed their lead to as high as eight points behind two separate 4-0 runs, the latter featuring two kills from Schurfranz sandwiched around back-to-back blocks by Chastang and Sutphin, to lead 19-11. KSU recorded the final three points of the set and as fate would have it, Vantrease clinched the win with a kill to the sound of a raucous crowd.
 
Notes: Quin Sutphin logged her fourth straight match hitting over .400, finishing with a .429 hitting percentage … Supthin's 15 kills marked her second highest total this season … Lauren Chastang had a tremendous all-around match, earning her eighth double-double of the season with 15 kills and 10 digs, while recording five blocks to go with two aces … as a team, the Owls totaled nine aces, two each from Bri Becerra, Lexi Broadwater, Karlee Groover and Chastang … three Owls finished the match with double-digit digs, led by Groover with 22 followed by Shelby Dennis with 19 to tie her career-high … Lexi Broadwater paced the squad with 46 assists in the match … Emma Schurfranz added nine kills in the match, followed by Dani Ballou and Lanie Vantrease with five … Madeline Johnson had four kills on four swings … the Owls recorded a season-high 13 blocks.
 
Quotes: Head Coach Keith Schunzel
On the first big road match…
"I think the first couple sets both teams were really in a feel out mode. The volleyball was ok at times, other times it was pretty error-filled and not really clean on both sides of the net. I thought once we got into a little more of a rhythm, once we started defending at a higher level, the match really turned. Our energy improved, we were making more plays, we were transitioning and killing the ball at a higher rate, so I thought that was really the key in turning the match."
 
On big performances all around…
"I thought our smalls, Karlee [Groover], Shelby [Dennis] and Bri [Becerra] all played really really well tonight, dug a lot of balls, passed really well, covered some big balls off the block. That really helped us. And then Madeline Johnson came in off the bench and played great, had four kills and a couple blocks. Lanie Vantrease, in front of her home crowd, came in and had some really big swings and a big block down the stretch. It was really a true team effort tonight, we had a lot of people contribute which was awesome."
 
On the crowd energy…
"It was pretty quiet in here for a couple sets, for a big match it was kind of a different vibe, I don't know how else to say it. So when [Vantrease] came in, she made a couple big plays early and the crowd got into it and I think that really helped. That helped our team's momentum and our energy, it was great."
 
Up Next: The Owls return home to host North Alabama next Friday (Oct. 11) before taking the trip down to Fort Myers for a big matchup with FGCU Sunday (Oct. 13).