Saturday, Feb. 13
12 p.m. – Kennesaw State (2-0, 2-0) at Bellarmine (1-5, 0-2)
Links: Live Stats | Youtube

Sunday, Feb. 14
12 p.m. – Kennesaw State (2-0, 2-0) at Bellarmine (1-5, 0-2)
Links: Live Stats | Youtube

Location: Kennesaw, Ga. | Convocation Center
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram
Notes: KSU

QUICK HITS
» After a thrilling start to the 2021 spring campaign, and after some shuffling by the ASUN, the Kennesaw State volleyball team is set to take on the Knights once again in its 2021 home opener. Bellarmine heads to Kennesaw after their road trip to Lipscomb was canceled due to positive COVID tests. The Owls opened the year with a weekend sweep at Bellarmine, coming back after dropping the first two sets to win their season-opener in five sets before downing the Knights in straight sets Saturday evening.

» Sophomore Emma Schurfranz had a tremendous homecoming against Bellarmine, recording 32 total kills while hitting .444 on the weekend. She began the road trip with a career-high 19 kills, including two aces and four blocks, Friday before tallying 13 kills on 20 swings for a .550 hitting percentage in game two. Schurfranz recorded a career-high four blocks in both matches to finish the weekend with eight total. For her performance, Schurfranz earned ASUN Player of the Week honors this past Tuesday. With just two games under her belt, Schurfranz ranks second in the ASUN for hitting percentage (.444) and fifth for kills per set (4.00).

» Lauren Chastang picked up right where she left off in 2019, opening the season with a double-double tying her career-high with 23 kills while adding 11 digs to mark her 33rd career-double-double. She finished the week with 37 total kills and 18 digs and currently ranks third in the ASUN, 15th in the NCAA, averaging 4.63 kills per set. With 1,015 career kills she is now just the fifth player in program history to reach 1,000 kills, needing just 10 more to surpass Sydni Shelton for fourth on the KSU record list.

» Junior Jessie Cohen impressed in her first career start at setter, racking up 90 total assists on the weekend. She logged a career-high 53 assists in KSU's five-set match, adding six aces and nine digs. Her current 11.25 assists per set average leads the ASUN and ranks 19th in the country. Cohen also ranks eighth in the league with six total aces, tying the five-set match recording all six aces in KSU's season-opener at Bellarmine.

» The Owl attack was on display at Bellarmine, recording 106 total kills. KSU's .266 hitting percentage and 13.25 kills per set average both currently lead the ASUN. Lauren Chastang (3rd) and Emma Schurfranz (5th) both rank in the league's top-5 for kills per set as two of six players in the ASUN to average at least four kills per set. Dani Ballou ranks 11th averaging 2.83 kills per set. Five Owls hit over .400 in Saturday's sweep of Bellarmine. Emma Schurfranz led the way hitting .550 in the match while Claire Parsons, Jessie Cohen, Katie Crocker and Dani Ballou combined for 14 kills and zero errors.

THE LOUISVILLE SLUGGER
After suffering a season-ending injury in the final match of the regular season last year, sophomore Emma Schurfranz made a splash in her return to the court this past weekend.

The 2019 ASUN All-Freshman Team selection recorded a career-high 19 kills in Friday's tilt against Bellarmine, adding two aces and tying her career-high with four blocks. She followed that performance with 13 kills, four blocks and two digs while hitting .550 in game two against the Knights.

Her performance over the weekend earned her ASUN Player of the Week honors, the first of her career. Schurfranz currently leads the league hitting .444 over the first two matches while ranked fifth averaging 4.0 kills per set.

OUT FOR THE KILL
The Owls currently have one of the top offenses in the ASUN after the first weekend averaging 13.25 kills per set to lead the league. Lipscomb is the only other team in the league to average over 13 kills per set.

KSU is hitting .266 as a team to lead the league and rank 33rd in the country. Only two other ASUN squads, FGCU and Lipscomb, are currently hitting over .200.

After committing 29 errors in their first match of the season, the Owls turned it around in game two recording only eight for a .374 hitting percentage. KSU logged only one error in the final set, hitting for a blazing .517 percentage.

Both Lauren Chastang (3rd) and Emma Schurfranz (5th) rank among the league's top-10 attackers averaging 4.63 and 4.00 kills per set respectively. Junior Dani Ballou sits just outside the top-10 at 11th averaging 2.83 kills per set.

THE THUNDER ROLLS
Lauren Chastang brought the thunder in KSU's opening weekend at Bellarmine tallying 37 total kills, 18 digs, two blocks and two aces. She kicked off the year with her 33rd career double-double tying her career high with 23 kills while adding 11 digs in game one against the Knights.

Her 23 kills made her just the fifth Owl in program history to reach 1,000 career kills with 1,015 and counting. She needs just 10 more kills to surpass Sydni Shelton (2015-18) for fourth all-time. The current career record is 1,240 kills held by Sabrita Gulley (2007-10).

Chastang is currently one of six players all-time with over 1,000 career points (1,178.5) passing Sydni Shelton for fourth all-time following last weekend's matches at Bellarmine.

If she can record 83 more digs this season, she will become just the third Owl in program history to rank among the top-10 for career kills and digs.

THE STAGE IS SET
Taking over as KSU's starting setter for the first time in her career, Jessie Cohen opened her tenure with a bang in the Owls' season-opener, registering 53 total assists.

She nearly earned her first career double-double as well adding a career-high nine digs to go along with six aces. Cohen's six aces tied the five-set program record.

She followed that performance with 37 assists, eight digs, two kills and a block in game two against the Knights.

Cohen's current 11.25 assists per set average leads the ASUN and ranks 19th in the NCAA. Not only that, but she is ranked 12th in the NCAA averaging 0.75 aces per set.

UP NEXT
KSU is currently slated to travel to Liberty next Friday (Feb. 19) and Saturday (Feb. 20).
 

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