Thursday, Dec. 5
8 p.m. ET – Kennesaw State (22-8, 13-3) vs No. 19 Western Kentucky (31-1, 14-0)

Location: Bowling Green, Ky. | E.A. Diddle Arena
Links: Live Stats | Facebook Live
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram
Notes: KSU

Quick Hits
» The Kennesaw State volleyball team is set to take on 15th-seeded Western Kentucky in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday night. The meeting is the first ever between the two programs as KSU enters the postseason tournament for the second time in three years after downing top-seeded FGCU in a five set thriller in the ASUN Championship.

» The Owls are one of the top attacking teams in the country averaging 14.42 kills per set to rank 13th in the NCAA. KSU is the only team in the ASUN to average over 14 kills per set with that mark setting a program single-season record. Both Lauren Chastang (3rd) and Quin Sutphin (7th) are among the league-leaders for kills per set, averaging 3.88 and 3.38 kills, respectively. 

» Junior Lauren Chastang has recorded 16 double-doubles on the season, setting a single-season record with 434 total kills on the year. She is one of four players in the ASUN to record over 400 kills this season and one of two players with over 300 kills and 300 digs on the year. 

» The ASUN Setter of the Year, Lexi Broadwater is one of just four setters in the country to average over 12 assists per set. The senior is currently averaging 12.07 assists per set to rank second in the nation. That mark surpasses the previous single-season record she set last season, making her the only Owl in program history to record over 12 assists per set in a year. 

» KSU has dominated the service line this season, leading the league and ranked third in the NCAA averaging 1.99 aces per set. Four Owls, Lauren Chastang (1st), Karlee Groover (4th), Bri Becerra (4th) and Lexi Broadwater (10th), rank among the ASUN's top-10 for total aces. Chastang's 65 total aces ranks fifth in the nation. 

» The Owls finished the year ranked third in the conference for digs per set (15.34) due in large part to libero Karlee Groover. Her current 4.79 digs per set average ranks third in the ASUN and places her second on the KSU single-season record list. She is one of four players in program history to record 1,000 career digs.

» Middle blocker Quin Sutphin leads the team with a blistering .351 hitting percentage this season. That mark is good enough for fourth in the ASUN. Sutphin is the only player in the conference to hit over .250 and average over three kills per set.

Tournament Press Conference

Tourney Time
The Owls return to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years, looking to win the program's first ever match in the postseason tournament.

KSU made the trek to BYU during its last appearance in 2017, facing Pac-12 foe Oregon in the opening round.

Of that tournament squad, only the current junior class, then freshmen, of Quin Sutphin, Karlee Groover and Lauren Chastang saw action against the Ducks. Chastang finished second on the team with nine kills while Groover totaled six digs.

Including the ASUN Tournament, the Owls are 7-7 all-time in postseason play.

KSU earned the automatic berth into the tournament after downing No. 1 seed FGCU in the conference tournament 3-2.

Dani Ballou was one of multiple Owls to set new career-highs, leading the team with 22 kills against the Eagles while Chastang (20 kills, 12 digs) and Lexi Broadwater (69 assists, 13 digs) each recorded double-doubles. 

Set Up For Success 
Senior Lexi Broadwater added yet another record to her growing list of accomplishments in KSU's championship match against FGCU. Her 69 total assists marked a new program single-match record.

Broadwater currently leads the ASUN and ranks second in the NCAA with a 12.07 assists per set average.

She is one of only four players in the country to average over 12 assists per set. If she maintains her current average, it would break the single-season record she set last season. Broadwater would then become the only Owl in program history to average over 11 assists and 12 assists per set in a single-season, averaging 11.28 a year ago.

She recently broke 1,000 assists on the year, marking just the sixth time in program history an Owl has recorded over 1,000 assists in a season. With 1,354 assists last season, Broadwater joins Sara Metroka (2011, 2012, 2013) as the only Owl to record over 1,000 assists in multiple seasons.

With two more assists this year, she will surpass the single-season record she set last season.

Broadwater is one of three players in program history to record over 2,000 career assists with 2,794 over her four seasons. Currently averaging 10.96 assists per set for her career, if maintained, she would set a new program career record.

Double-Double Trouble
Junior Lauren Chastang has come up big in all facets this season, ranked third in the ASUN for kills per set (3.88) and 12th for digs per set (2.77).

With 435 kills this season, Chastang is the first Owl in program history to record over 400 kills in multiple seasons, setting a new single-season record following her 20 kills against FGCU.

Chastang has logged at least 20 kills in seven matches this year. She needs just 41 more kills to become the fifth Owl ever to record 1,000 career kills.

Defensively, she is second on the team with 310 total digs. She is one of two players in the conference to record over 300 kills and 300 digs on the year.

With 620 digs in her career, she is on track to become the third Owl in history to rank among KSU's top-10 for both career kills and digs. 

Ace in the Hole
KSU has owned the service line this year, averaging 1.99 aces per set to lead the ASUN and rank third in the nation.

KSU's 223 total aces ranks fifth in the NCAA and marks the first time in program history the Owls have recorded over 200 aces in a single-season. That mark surpasses the previous single-season record by nearly 50 aces.

The Owls have recorded double-digit aces in six matches this year, logging eight or more in the last four straight.

KSU has set and tied the single-match record this year with 14 aces against Furman and North Alabama. The Owls' 14 against UNA also marked the most aces all-time in a four-set match.

Lauren Chastang has been a huge factor in KSU's success at the service line, recording three or more aces in 10 matches this year. She currently holds the single-season record with 65 aces to rank fifth in the NCAA for total aces and fifth for aces per set (0.58).

Including Chastang, six Owls have logged at least 20 aces on the year, Karlee Groover, Bri Becerra, Lexi Broadwater, Shelby Dennis and Jessie Cohen.

Groover, Becerra and Broadwater also rank among the league's top-10 for total aces landing in a tie for fourth and 10th, respectively.

QUINtessentially dominant
Quin Sutphin has been one of the most efficient hitters in the ASUN this year, hitting over .400 in 13 matches, eight matches hitting over .500.

She is one of four players in the league to hit over .350 this season, ranked fourth with a .351 hitting percentage.

If she maintains her current hitting percentage, she would be the first Owl in program history to finish a season hitting over .350.

The Fort Mill, S.C., native is the only player in the ASUN to hit over .250 and average over three kills per set (3.38).

Her 3.38 kills per set average ranks seventh in the ASUN while also ranked ninth in the league averaging 0.92 blocks per set. 

We Can Dig It
The Owls rank third in the ASUN with a 15.34 digs per set average, one of three teams to average over 15 digs per set.

Five Owls have hit the century mark for digs with Karlee Groover, Lauren Chastang and Shelby Dennis all recording over 300.

Groover leads the team with 538 digs on the year to rank fourth in the conference for total digs and digs per set (4.79). The Newnan, Ga., native has logged double-digit digs in all but two matches this year, totaling 20 or more digs in nine matches.

She set the program single-match record with 41 digs during KSU's four-set win over FGCU in the regular season. With 1,209 digs in her career, Groover is just the fourth Owl in program history to record over 1,000 career digs.

She's A Freshman
The Owls' newest additions this season have had some tremendous starts to their KSU careers.

Shelby Dennis has come up clutch on the defensive side for the Owls. She is currently third on the team, 12th in the ASUN, with 304 total digs. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, she recorded her first career 20+ dig match in the ASUN Tournament final against FGCU, logging 24.

Emma Schurfranz has had a major impact on the right side for KSU, logging double-digit kills in nine matches. She is one of five Owls this year to record over 200 kills. Her 206 total kills this year is the third most all-time by a freshman at KSU.

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