Saturday, Sept. 21
11 a.m. – Kennesaw State (7-3) vs. Maryland (6-3)

Sunday, Sept. 22
12 p.m. – Kennesaw State (7-3) vs. South Carolina (5-4)

Location: Columbia, S.C. | Carolina Volleyball Center
Links:
Match 1: Live Stats 
Match 2: Live Stats
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram
Notes: KSU 

Quick Hits
» The Kennesaw State volleyball team closes out non-conference play this weekend at the Gamecock Invitational, taking on its fifth and sixth Power-5 opponents of the 2019 campaign. The Owls look to keep their momentum rolling after downing Alabama, 3-1, this past Tuesday, squaring off with Maryland Saturday at 11 a.m., followed by hosts South Carolina Sunday at 12 p.m.

» Quin Sutphin had a monster game against the Tide Tuesday, recording a career-high 21 kills and committing only two errors for a blistering .679 hitting percentage, also a career-high. That mark stands as the third highest hitting percentage in program history. Lauren Chastang joined Sutphin with 21 kills herself, her third match this season with 20 or more kills. Tuesday's match marked the third time in program history two Owls recorded 20 or more kills in the same match. 

» As a team, the Owls are one of two teams in the league to average over 13 kills per set (13.56), leading the league with 582 total kills. KSU ranks fifth in the NCAA for total kills and 49th for kills per set. Lauren Chastang is a big factor in the Owls kill total this year with 159 kills to rank 19th in the country. Her 3.7 kills per set average ranks fourth in the conference.

» Lexi Broadwater recorded her third straight match with 50 or more assists at Alabama, logging 50 or more assists in five matches this season. She is currently averaging 11.05 assists per set to rank second in the ASUN and 22nd in the NCAA. Broadwater's 475 total assists currently leads the nation.

» The Owls have been deadly from the service line so far this season, ranked fifth in the NCAA with 80 total aces. KSU has recorded 10 or more aces in three straight matches, four of the last five, setting a program record with 14 against Furman. Five Owls rank among the league's top-10 for aces with Lauren Chastang leading the way with 23, good enough for seventh in the NCAA. Karlee Groover ranks fourth with 15 aces followed by Bri Becerra in seventh with 13, Lexi Broadwater (10) in eighth and Shelby Dennis (9) tied for tenth.

The Gold Standard
Individually and as a team, the Owls are currently ranked among some of the nation's best this season.

KSU ranks among the NCAA's top-5 for total assists (4th), kills (5th) and aces (5th) while ranked in the top-50 for aces per set (23rd), total digs (31st), assists per set (42nd) and kills per set (49th).

Lauren Chastang and Lexi Broadwater are dominant in their respective roles, ranked among the top-50 in multiple categories.

Broadwater leads the nation for total assists with 475 while ranked 22nd for assists per set (11.05), one of only 26 players nationwide to average over 11 assists per set.

Chastang is all over the NCAA lists, ranking seventh for total aces (23), eighth for total points (190.5) and 19th for total kills (159).

After logging 20 or more digs in four of the last five matches, Karlee Groover has climbed up the NCAA rankings as well ranked 27th for total digs (187).

Killing The Game
The Owls have been crushing it so far this season, racking up 583 total kills to lead the ASUN. KSU is one of two teams in the league to average over 13 kills per set (13.56).

The Owls are on track to break the single-season record for kills set last season. KSU has nearly 50 more kills through the first 10 matches than this point in 2018. If maintained it would mark the third straight season, third time in program history, KSU has averaged over 13 kills per set in a season.

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

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

Set Up For Success
The ASUN Preseason Setter of the Year has not disappointed so far this season. Lexi Broadwater is currently ranked second in the ASUN averaging 11.05 assists per set, one of two setters to average 11 or more assists.

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. She set another 60 assists against South Alabama.

In program history, an Owl has recorded over 60 assists in a match seven times, two of which have been Broadwater. Her 63 assists against Furman is tied for the second-most in a single match.

With 1,917 assists in her career, Broadwater is one of four players in program history to record over 1,500 career assists, ranked third all-time. 

The Film Room
The Owls will square off with both Maryland and South Carolina for the first time in program history.

Maryland opens the tournament against South Carolina on Friday, heading into the weekend with a 6-3 record. The Terrapins are another aggressive serving team, leading the Big Ten with 85 aces. Maryland's two outside hitters, Erika Pritchard and Rebekah Rath both have over 100 kills on the year with 152 and 111, respectively.

The host Gamecocks enter the tournament winning four of their last five matches to climb above .500 on the year at 5-4. Senior Mikayla Shields leads the team with 111 kills on the year.

To Be The Best You Have To Beat The Best
Head Coach Keith Schunzel has lined up a non-conference gauntlet for the Owls in 2019 with seven teams who finished among the top-100 in RPI last season, six Power 5 opponents and four teams who earned a 2018 NCAA Tournament berth.

Among those non-conference teams, six were selected to finish in the top-5 of their respective preseason polls with High Point, Samford and James Madison chosen to win their conferences.  

Looking Ahead
After the weekend tournament, the Owls open ASUN play on the road at NJIT next Tuesday (Sept. 24) afternoon at 1 p.m.

Stat Leaders
Kills: 159, Lauren Chastang
Assists: 475, Lexi Broadwater
Digs: 187, Karlee Groover
Blocks: 29, Jasmine Brown
Aces: 23, Lauren Chastang
Attack Percentage: .283, Quin Sutphin

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