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CLEMSON, S.C. – The Kennesaw State women's volleyball team started the 2019 campaign off on the right foot with a 25-21, 25-21, 25-21 sweep over Wofford to open the Big Orange Bash Tournament Friday afternoon.
 
How it Happened: The Owls (1-0) hit the gas to open the season, jumping out to a 6-0 lead over the Terriers (0-1) following back-to-back aces from Karlee Groover. Wofford clawed its way back to within one, 7-6, but KSU managed to gain some breathing room, 15-11, after a kill from Dani Ballou and an error from Wofford.
 
The two teams traded points in the set until Quin Sutphin rattled off three straight kills to eventually force a timeout from the Terriers with KSU leading 21-17. The Owls then closed out the set behind the arm of Lauren Chastang who notched the final two kills to give KSU a 25-21 set victory.
 
The second set started off with a back-and-forth battle before a quick 4-0 run put the Owls on top 9-5. KSU was able to maintain a three-point lead throughout most of the set until Wofford came back to tie the match 18-18.
 
The Owls responded immediately with a 4-0 run, including two more aces from Groover, to lead 22-18. Wofford attempted to mount a comeback pulling within two, 23-21, but Chastang put the nail in the coffin with back-to-back kills to close out the set.
 
Wofford came out swinging in the final set, eventually taking a 10-6 lead following a 5-1 run. The Terriers held the Owls off throughout the set, utilizing a 5-0 run to lead 20-15.
 
After a kill by Ballou, freshman Emma Schurfranz kept the momentum rolling with back-to-back kills to help spark a 5-0 run for KSU to knot the match at 20. Schurfranz and Ballou put the squad on their back to close out the match, recording two more kills each to cap off a 10-1 run and clinch the sweep with a final set score of 25-21.
 
Notes: With the win, the Owls have now won their last three straight season-openers, dropping only one set in that span … Karlee Groover's career-high five aces ties the KSU single-game record for a three-set match … Quin Sutphin led the way for KSU with 11 kills, her 10th career match with double-digit kills … Emma Schurfranz finished the match with six kills, five coming in the third set … Lauren Chastang was one kill shy of a double-double with nine kills and 10 digs … Lexi Broadwater recorded 31 assists in the match … the Owls out-dug Wofford 41-29 … Groover led the team with 12 digs, while Shelby Dennis tallied seven … KSU recorded only four blocks in the match, three coming from Sutphin, compared to 13 for Wofford.
 
Quotes: Head Coach Keith Schunzel
On recording a season-opening sweep…
"It's always nice to win your first match of the year 3-0. We certainly have some things that we'll need to continue getting cleaner with, but as has been the goal and theme of preseason, our team was better today than our exhibition last weekend and that's a good thing. I thought Quin Sutphin had a nice match leading us in kills and I thought [Karlee] Groover and [Lexi] Broadwater did a great job of holding the group together when the wheels were coming off a little."
 
On the third set comeback…
"It was nice to see us play consistent high-level ball to come back to win the third set. It was an error fest for the first half of that set, and we closed it out with eight kills and only one error, which is good stuff."
 
On the freshmen's play…
"It's always nice to see some of the freshman get their first match experience. Shelby Dennis is playing excellent, consistent ball early on in her career and Emma Schurfranz had some big swings down the stretch and learned a lot from today."
 
Up next: The Owls close out the Big Orange Bash Tournament with a doubleheader Saturday. KSU opens the day against Georgia at 12 p.m., before ending the day against host Clemson at 7 p.m.
 

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