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KENNESAW, Ga. – After dropping the first set and trailing 23-16 in the second, the Kennesaw State volleyball team rallied for an instant classic in their final home match of the season, defeating league-leaders FGCU in four sets, 28-30, 30-28, 25-21, 25-21, Friday night.
 
Four Owls finished the match with double-digit kills led by Lauren Chastang who tied her career-high with 23. Libero Karlee Groover was phenomenal defensively, setting a program record with 41 digs, seven more than the previous record.
 
How it Happened: The Owls (17-8, 10-3) and Eagles (24-4, 12-2) were locked in a close battle throughout the early portion of the match, needing extra points to decide the first and second sets.
 
The two teams traded points to open the match until a 4-1 swing gave FGCU a 14-9 lead. KSU pulled back to within one, winning seven of the next 10 points, as a kill from Quin Sutphin made it 17-16. The Owls eventually tied the set at 19 after back-to-back kills from Sutphin and a kill from Chastang capped off a quick 3-0 run. FGCU looked to shut the door on the Owls with a 23-20 lead, but another 3-0 run for KSU knotted the set back up. KSU managed to fight off set point thanks to back-to-back kills from Dani Ballou before the two squads began to trade set points. FGCU finally managed to gain the upper hand with a kill and two errors from the Owls to win the opening set 30-28.
 
The Eagles kept that momentum going into the second set, jumping out to an 8-2 lead early. KSU chipped away at the lead to pull within two, 15-13, after a 5-1 swing, but FGCU responded immediately with a 4-0 run to lead 19-13. The Eagles pushed their lead to eight, 23-15, before the Owls rattled off four straight points to cut the lead in half. KSU refused to go down after FGCU earned set point, 24-19, as a kill from Jasmine Brown and back-to-back kills from Ballou kicked off a 6-0 run for the Owls to fight off five set points and earn a set point of their own, 25-24. The two teams proceeded to go back-and-forth deep into the set once again until a kill from Sutphin followed by a kill from Ballou sealed the 30-28 set victory for KSU.
 
The third set started off in a similar battle before the Owls seized control with a 5-0 run, capped off by an ace by Lexi Broadwater, to lead 12-5. KSU remained in front after going point-for-point with another 3-0 run to maintain a 19-12 advantage. The Eagles managed to pull within three, 23-20, but kills from Chastang and Sutphin shut the door on an FGCU rally, winning 25-21 to take a 2-1 set lead.
 
KSU put the pressure on FGCU in the opening of the fourth set as an ace from Chastang made it 8-3 early. The Eagles eventually fought back to tie it up with a 3-0 run to make it 14-14. FGCU pulled ahead 18-16 following another 3-0 run, but the Owls answered with a 7-1 run of their own to put themselves in the driver's seat leading 23-19. KSU closed out the match on the back of Chastang who recorded the final three kills to give the Owls a 25-21 set win and the match victory.
 
Notes: Lauren Chastang tied her career-high for the third time with 23 kills, marking the fifth time this season she has recorded 20 or more kills … Quin Sutphin finished with 15 kills … with her 13 kills on the night, Dani Ballou has now recorded 400 career kills … Emma Schurfranz was the final Owl in double-figures with 10 kills … Jasmine Brown had an incredible match, hitting .350 for nine kills while setting the KSU record with four solo blocks … Sutphin added another three solo blocks as the Owls set a team single-match record with eight solo blocks … Karlee Groover's 41 digs marks the first time in program history an Owl has recorded over 40 digs in a match … The Owls' 92 total digs marks the first time since September 2, 2017 that KSU has recorded over 90 digs in a match … Shelby Dennis fell two digs shy of her career-high with 17 … Chastang logged her 13th double-double of the season with 10 digs to go along with her 23 kills … Lexi Broadwater finished with 57 assists, her eighth match this season with 50 or more assists.
 
Quotes: Head Coach Keith Schunzel
On rallying from behind…
"The biggest thing that we did is that we kept our belief. We were down in set two, we couldn't finish off set one and we just kept chipping away and fighting and that, at this point in the year, is really what we are stressing. The talent and skill are there. Certainly, FGCU is extremely well coached, a great team and very well balanced, there is a reason they are in first, they are just really good. We are just trying to keep the team believing and confident. Confident in how they are talking, how we are training and competing and thinking, and when we do that boy we can be pretty special. I am super proud of our team for fighting and keeping that belief and figuring out how to win that match."
 
On the all-around performances…
"We were exceptionally balanced tonight if you look at the total attempts and kills. We had four players with 10 or more kills and then [Jasmine Brown] with nine would've been the fifth if she had one more, but she hit .350 and had a great match. Lexi [Broadwater] did a great job, our ball handlers played very well. We gave Lexi a lot of balls at the net, and she spread it around. Lexi did a good job of feeling the hot hand at the right times tonight which I thought was a really nice mentality for her to figure out. Again, when we're rolling and when the offense is going and killing it and we're defending at that level, we are a lot to handle. Just proud of our team for competing and sticking with it and winning that match."
 
Up Next: The Owls will take the momentum from tonight and travel to DeLand where they will take on a formidable Stetson team Sunday at 1 p.m.