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Score: Kennesaw State 3, Liberty 1, (17-25, 28-26, 25-17, 25-18)
Records: Kennesaw State (6-0, 6-0), Liberty (2-5, 2-4)
Key Players: Lauren Chastang (22 kills, 9 digs), Dani Ballou (16 kills, 2 digs, 1 blk), Emma Schurfranz (14 kills, 1 blk), Karlee Groover (17 digs, 4 aces), Jessie Cohen (48 assts, 6 digs), Bri Becerra (5 aces, 4 digs) and Shelby Dennis (11 digs).

THE STORYLINE: 
After an early battle, the Kennesaw State women's volleyball team picked up the tempo down the stretch to extinguish the Liberty Flames in four sets (17-25, 28-26, 25-17, 25-18) Saturday afternoon and remain perfect on the season.

SCHUNZEL QUOTES:
On coming back to win in four sets...
"Liberty came out hot today handling the ball well and we were having a lot of trouble early on slowing down their fast offense and physical attackers. We showed a ton of resilience to fight back and win a tight set two, which was huge. Once our serving and ball handling started taking over, Cohen got our offense clicking and the match really turned our way. Proud of our team going 2-0 on the road against a tough team who presents a lot of challenges."

HOW IT HAPPENED:
The two squads traded shots to open game two of the weekend series until Liberty pulled ahead 8-4 following a 5-1 swing. KSU tried to cut into the lead but couldn't break the two-point barrier as Liberty extended its lead to as high as 10 points, 23-13, outscoring the Owls 8-2 midway through the set. KSU attempted to make a late run, but it was too little too late as Liberty cruised to a 25-17 opening set victory. The Owls hit .122 in the set.
 
With the two squads trading points in the second set, KSU seized control with a 4-0 run to lead 16-10. The Owls were hitting over .500 midway through the set, but Liberty bounced back cutting the lead down to one, 18-17, after a 4-0 run. KSU kept the Flames at bay with a 4-1 swing eventually earning set point, 24-20, off the arm of Lauren Chastang. But the Flames would not die down, ripping off a 5-0 run to fend off set point and earn one of their own taking a 25-24 lead. With the Flames leading 26-25, the Owls closed out the set on a 3-0 run featuring two kills from Chastang and a combo block by Dani Ballou and Claire Parsons to give KSU the set win and put the match back on level terms.
 
The Owls kept it rolling to open the third set with a 3-0 run capped off by an ace from Groover to give KSU the early advantage. Holding on to a 10-9 lead, the Owls pulled away with a 7-0 run capped off by back-to-back aces from Bri Becerra. KSU kept its foot on the gas hitting .429 in the set with five aces before back-to-back kills from Emma Schurfranz earned the 25-17 set victory.
 
A similar 3-0 run in the opening minutes of the fourth set had KSU leading 5-2 out of the gates. Liberty managed to cut the lead down to one, 11-10, but the Owls hung on utilizing a 4-0 run to take an 18-12 lead. KSU maintained its four-point lead down the stretch with Chastang capping off the match with three straight kills to seal the 25-18 set victory.

NOTES
- The Owls' 13 total aces is tied for second in KSU single-game history.
- Lauren Chastang recorded over 20 kills for the second time this season, 12th time in her career.
- Dani Ballou's 16 kills marked a season-high.
- Emma Schurfranz extended her double-digit kill streak to six matches.
- Bri Becerra's five aces marked the third time in her career she has logged four or more aces.
- Karlee Groover recorded a season-high 17 digs, logging four or more aces for the fourth time in her career.

UP NEXT
The Owls return home to host North Alabama for two matches next Friday (Feb. 26) and Saturday (Feb. 27).