Friday, Sept. 13
7 p.m. – Kennesaw State (5-2) vs. Samford (4-2)

Saturday, Sept. 14
7 p.m. – Kennesaw State (5-2) vs. South Alabama (4-3)

Location: Kennesaw, Ga. | Convocation Center
Links:
Match 1: Live Stats | ESPN+
Match 2: Live Stats | ESPN+
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram
Notes: KSU 

Quick Hits
» The Kennesaw State volleyball team returns to the Convocation Center for its final non-conference home matches of the year, hosting Samford and South Alabama in the 2019 Owl Invitational. The two-day tournament kicks off Friday night with KSU taking on SoCon powerhouse Samford at 7 p.m., followed by South Alabama Saturday night at 7 p.m.

» The Owls look to keep their momentum rolling following a 4-0 week that included victories over Georgia Tech in their home-opener and a sweep of the High Point Invitational where KSU grinded out back-to-back five-set victories.

» Following KSU's remarkable week, the junior duo of Karlee Groover and Lauren Chastang received a pair of ASUN weekly awards. Groover was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week after tallying 76 total digs, including an incredible 32 digs against Furman to set a new program record for a five-set match. Chastang was named the overall ASUN Player of the week, recording three double-doubles across KSU's four matches. She totaled 64 kills and 48 digs on the week, including a massive 22 kills and career-high 21 digs against Furman.

» One of the top scoring teams in the ASUN, KSU ranks third in the league for both kills per set (13.17) and hitting percentage (.215). Three Owls have recorded at least 60 kills on the year to rank among the league's top-10. Lauren Chastang is second with 98 kills followed by Emma Schurfranz (66) and Dani Ballou (62) in eighth and 10th, respectively.

» Lexi Broadwater set a new career mark against Furman this past Saturday, recording 63 total assists. That mark tied Tara Dillon's 2007 program record for assists in a five-set match, falling just four assists shy of the overall record. Broadwater is currently one of three players in the ASUN to average over 10 assists per set (10.52).

» The Owls have been deadly from the service line so far this season, leading the league with 47 total aces. Lauren Chastang and Karlee Groover are two of the four players in the ASUN to record at least 10 aces on the year, ranked second and third respectively.

Killing The Game
The Owls have been crushing it so far this season, racking up 382 total kills to lead the ASUN. KSU is one of three teams in the league to average over 13 kills per set (13.17).

At the High Point Invitational, the Owls fell three kills shy of setting a new program record with 76 total kills against Furman.

So far this year, KSU has recorded over 70 kills in two matches, Georgia Tech and Furman. Before the season, KSU had only recorded over 70 kills in eight matches all-time, the most recent coming against USC Upstate in 2016.

Four Owls have logged double-digit kills in at least three matches this season, led by Lauren Chastang with five matches of at least 10 kills.

She's A Freshman
The Owls' newest additions this season have started off their careers with a bang. Emma Schurfranz and Shelby Dennis have started four of KSU's seven matches on the year.

Schurfranz has had a major impact on the right side for KSU, logging at least five kills in every match, double-digits in three. She has recorded 14 kills in two matches, including against Georgia Tech where she hit a blistering .583 while committing zero errors in the match.

Dennis has come up clutch on the defensive side for the Owls. She is currently third on the team with 60 total digs so far this year. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, she led the team in digs against Georgia Tech with 19.

Earning her first significant minutes in Owl uniform against James Madison, Lanie Vantrease played in all five sets recording six kills against the Dukes.

Set Up For Success
The ASUN Preseason Setter of the Year has not disappointed so far this season. Lexi Broadwater is currently one of three players in the ASUN to average over 10 assists per set (10.52).

Broadwater set an amazing match against Furman at the High Point Invitational, recording a career-high 63 assists. Her performance marked the first time since 2016 that an Owl recorded over 60 assists in a match, and only the sixth time in program history that feat was accomplished. Her 63 assists is tied for the second-most in a single match.

With 1,747 assists in her career, Broadwater is one of four players in program history to record over 1,500 career assists.

The Film Room
After taking on Samford in Birmingham last year, the Bulldogs come to Kennesaw for the first time since 2013. The 2018 SoCon Tournament champions, Samford heads into the weekend with a 4-2 record, winning its last four matches.

Samford opened the winning streak with a five-set victory over then-ranked No. 24 Arizona. The Bulldogs went on to sweep their home tournament, dropping only one set in their wins over North Alabama, Jacksonville State and UAB.

Samford is led by Sophomore Lauren Deaton and senior Kelsi Hobbs who rank first and second in the SoCon for total kills with 105 and 81, respectively. Both Deaton and Hobbs recorded 15 kills in last year's meeting.

Similar to Samford, South Alabama heads into the Owl Invitational riding a four-match win streak for a 4-3 record.

Senior Middle Blocker Kelley Hartman leads the team and the Sun Belt Conference with a .419 hitting percentage. Hartman is also third in the league with 68 kills on the year.

Looking Ahead
After this weekend's tournament, the Owls head to Tuscaloosa for a mid-week showdown against SEC foe Alabama Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET.

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