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DELAND, Fla. – The Kennesaw State women's volleyball team closed out a perfect weekend by sweeping upstart Stetson, 25-21, 25-22, 25-19, Sunday afternoon to open the final road swing of the season.
How it Happened: After falling behind 3-0 out of the gates, the Owls (18-8, 11-2) charged back with a 5-0 run to take the early lead. The Hatters (10-13, 7-6) managed to tie the set back up before the two squads proceeded to trade 3-0 runs with KSU holding a one-point lead, 18-17, thanks to the sixth kill of the set from Quin Sutphin. The junior middle blocker had a phenomenal set, registering seven kills on seven swings for a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage to help the Owls take the opening set, 25-21.
Sutphin kept that momentum rolling in the second set with the opening kill shortly before serving up an ace to give KSU a 4-3 advantage. The Owls were on fire midway through the set, hitting .750 as a team at one point to lead 15-11 following back-to-back kills from Jasmine Brown. The Owls pushed their lead to as high as six, 21-15, before Stetson began to rally with a 6-2 swing to cut the deficit to two, 23-21. KSU shut down the comeback attempt with kills from Brown and Lexi Broadwater to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The two squads traded points to open the third set before the Owls gained the advantage, 8-4, with a 3-0 run capped off by a kill from Emma Schurfranz. KSU held at least a three-point cushion throughout the set, hitting .500 as a team. The Hatters put the pressure on KSU late, threatening to send the match to a fourth set with a 4-1 run to pull within one, 20-19, and force a timeout from the Owls. Out of the break, Florida native Dani Ballou rallied the squad with back-to-back kills to spark a 5-0 run and close out the match 25-19 to record the sweep. Ballou recorded six of her nine kills in the final set.
Notes: Quin Sutphin led the way with 17 kills, recording only one error for a .640 hitting percentage … it's the fourth time this season Sutphin has finished hitting over .600 … Jasmine Brown had a stellar match in the middle as well with nine kills and only one error for a .533 hitting percentage while adding a team-high three blocks … including Sutphin and Brown, five Owls finished with at least seven kills Dani Ballou (9), Emma Schurfranz (8) and Lauren Chastang (7) … KSU's 52 total kills is tied for the fifth most all-time in a three-set match … the Owls hit .349 as a team, the seventh time this season they have hit above .300 … Karlee Groover (15) and Chastang (14) each recorded double-digit digs … Lexi Broadwater finished with 43 assists … KSU out-killed Stetson 52-30.
Quotes: Head Coach Keith Schunzel
On recording the sweep…
"We have struggled mightily in that gym in the past, so I'm incredibly proud and impressed of our women today. We played three sets being fully engaged, competing for each point and playing at a high level."
On KSU's middles and defensive performance…
"Our middles went nuts today and led us on offense, which was great to see. But the biggest thing was that we defended well all day and really made it hard for Stetson to consistently score. That defensive mindset and aggressiveness was the key to the match."
Up Next: The Owls close out the regular season on the road next weekend, traveling to Jacksonville Friday (Nov. 15) before squaring off with Liberty Sunday (Nov. 17) afternoon.
