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KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State volleyball held off a pesky Stetson squad Friday night to claim its eighth win in a row by a 3-0 score (25-23, 25-22, 30-28) from the Convocation Center. The Senior Night victory kept the Owls undefeated at home in ASUN play this season, and improved the Owls to 16-8 overall, 10-3 in the conference to tie for second place in the East Division.
OWL OF THE GAME: Senior
Lauren Chastang just missed out on another double-double as she finished with team-highs of 14 kills, nine digs and three aces to pace the Owls. She was on fire to start the night, posting 12 kills in the first two sets.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Owls won for just the second time this season when it had a lower hitting percentage than its opponent (.237-.215). However, KSU did hold a key edge on service aces by an 8-3 margin.
SET ONE: The Owls started out slow, spotting the visitors a 5-1 lead. KSU was still down 12-7 when it reeled off a 7-0 run.
Dani Ballou started things off with a kill, while Chastang notched three in a row, while an attack error put the Owls up 13-12. The set was back and forth the rest of the way, and with the score tied at 23-23, two straight KSU points sealed the win.
SET TWO: KSU never trailed in this set, jumping out to a 9-4 advantage. The Owls built a lead as large as seven, 18-11, before Stetson made a charge, scoring 10 of the next 14 points to close within 22-21. Back-to-back kills from
Emma Schurfranz would end the Hatter threat and give the set to KSU.
SET THREE: This set was in the visitor's favor for the majority of the time, as Stetson started out with a 7-3 lead. A 10-2 run by the Owls put KSU back ahead but the Hatters weren't ready to go away just yet, coming back for 14-13 and 15-14 leads. The Owls responded with six unanswered of their own, on a run that included three kills from Schurfranz. Stetson closed within 20-18, before KSU closed out with five of the next six points for the match victory.
QUOTEABLE: "Proud of our group for finding a way to sweep a solid team when we simply weren't at our sharpest tonight. But we made some key plays late in each set and pulled it out in three. I'm even more proud of the four seniors that we honored tonight. These four women have given their heart and soul to this program and this university and I'm so dang proud of who they all have become on and off the court. I have so much love and respect for those four."
– KSU head coach Keith Schunzel
NOTES:
- The Owls' eight-game win streak is tied for the 14th-longest in the nation, and is second in the ASUN behind FGCU's current 15-game streak.
- Schurfranz joined Chastang in double-figures for kills with 13.
- Also posting strong games Friday night were Shelby Dennis (11 digs) and Bri Becerra (10 digs).
- Prior to the game, Chastang, Becerra, Jessie Cohen and Katie Crocker were all honored during the Owls' Senior Night ceremony.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls close out the 2021 home schedule with a Sunday match against first place FGCU at 1 pm.
