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Score: Kennesaw State 3, Liberty 1, (25-14, 25-23, 21-25, 25-22)
Records: Kennesaw State (5-0, 5-0), Liberty (2-4, 2-3)
Key Players: Lauren Chastang (17 kills, 11 digs, 3 aces), Claire Parsons (12 kills, 2 blks), Schurfranz (12 kills, 3 blks), Cohen (42 assts, 6 digs), Dani Ballou (7 kills, 2 blks), Katie Crocker (3 kills, 4 blks) and Karlee Groover (14 digs).
 
THE STORYLINE: 
The Kennesaw State women's volleyball team withstood the heat and powered through to down Liberty in a four set battle Friday evening (25-14, 25-23, 21-25, 25-22). Lauren Chastang led the way with her second double-double of the season (17 kills, 11 digs).

SCHUNZEL QUOTES:
On the match…
"Our opponent this weekend could not be a whole lot more different than our opponent was the first two weekends, as it relates to style of play, size of their athletes and overall speed. So, we had a feeling there was going to be some learning and adjusting and there was. I'm proud of our team for coming out super focused and controlling set one from the get-go. But one thing we are learning how to do is continuing to play our style when the other team starts playing better or throws some curveballs at us. And tonight, I thought we really got away from being us in the middle of that match and we started pressing a bit which is when things can go sideways. Chastang and Groover played free and led like great senior leaders do and we had a bunch of really good contributions form a lot of other players to help us pull out the win."

HOW IT HAPPENED:
Tied 4-4 at the onset of the match, KSU pulled ahead with a 7-1 swing, capped off by back-to-back kills from Emma Schurfranz, to lead 11-5. The Owls continued to push the tempo hitting .323 in the opening set to lead by as much as 21-11. KSU flew to the first set victory as two straight kills from Katie Crocker opened a 3-0 run to cap the 25-14 result. Chastang finished the set with five kills on eight swing to hit .625. KSU held Liberty to a -.042 hitting percentage in the set.

The second set was a much tighter affair as KSU held on to an early 8-6 lead following a kill from Claire Parsons. The Owls maintained their slim lead throughout the set as both teams went back-and-forth until a 4-1 run by the Flames knotted the set at 17-17. Liberty outscored KSU 7-2 to pull in front 20-18. With the Flames leading 23-21, KSU rattled off the next four straight points as kills from Jessie Cohen and Chastang secured the late comeback to put the Owls on top 2-0.

The back-and-forth trend continued in the opening minutes of the third set before a 6-0 run put Liberty on top 10-6. The Owls eventually cut the deficit to one, 18-17, as Dani Ballou registered back-to-back kills. That would be as close as KSU would get though as Liberty outscored the Owls 6-3 down the stretch to take the set 25-21 and fend off the sweep. KSU hit .095 in the third set.

Liberty continued its momentum in the fourth set, opening the frame on a 5-0 run, but the Owls powered back to eventually take the lead 9-8 as an ace from Chastang capped off a 3-0 run. From there the two squads went point-for-point deadlocked at 14-14 as the fourth set featured seven ties. KSU finally seized control behind a 4-1 swing featuring kills from Chastang, Lanie Vantrease and Parsons, who also added an ace, to lead 18-15. Liberty cut the deficit to two, 20-18, but a 4-1 run featuring three kills from Schurfranz gave KSU match point 24-19. The Flames gave the Owls a scare fighting off three straight set points to make it 24-22, but Chastang finally put the game away with a kill to secure the win.

NOTES
- Lauren Chastang recorded her second double-double of the season, 34th of her career.
- Claire Parsons recorded her second straight game with double-digit kills, recording 12, while hitting a career-high .500 for the match.
- Katie Crocker led the team with four blocks, her fourth match in the last five with four or more blocks.
- Liberty recorded 16 blocks in the match compared to seven for KSU.

UP NEXT
The Owls will close out the weekend with game two against the Flames Saturday at 4 p.m.