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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Kennesaw State Volleyball held off a Jacksonville squad that fought the entire game, eventually collecting its sixth straight win in Friday's 3-1 (25-21, 25-22, 23-25, 25-22) ASUN road victory from Swisher Gymnasium. The Owls remain alone in first place in the conference at 8-1 and stand at 15-4 overall on the year.
OWL OF THE GAME: Emma Schurfranz was a steady performer all game long for the Owls, as the senior finished with a double-double of 12 kills and 11 digs. She also added a game-high three aces and tied for the team lead in blocks with three as well for 16.5 points overall.
STAT OF THE GAME: In a game that was even in almost every category as the Owls only outscored JU by a total of eight points, KSU's success behind the service line ended up being the difference. KSU finished the day with 10 aces, while the Dolphins had just three in the match to go along with 13 costly service errors.
SET ONE: KSU took an early advantage thanks to a 5-0 run for an 11-7 edge. Though the Dolphins would tie the set twice, at 11-11 and 12-12, the Owls would slowly increase their edge, and finished off the set with a kill and an ace from freshman
Manu Johnsen.
SET TWO: The home team went ahead early this time, as JU held a 9-6 advantage and were still up 11-9 before KSU made its move. Back-to-back kills from
Dani Ballou started an 8-3 spurt to put the Owls up 17-14, and again Johnsen finished off the set with the winning point.
SET THREE: Early in the set KSU looked to be on its way to another sweep after grabbing an 8-5 advantage following a Schurfranz ace. The Dolphins stayed close though and used a 4-0 spurt to go up 14-11 and they never trailed again. JU went up 22-17 when the Owls made a big rally, scoring six of the next seven points to tie the set at 23-23. Two points away from closing out the match, the Dolphins stayed alive by scoring the final two points.
SET FOUR: Again this was a set that went back and forth, with KSU first leading before JU grabbed a 14-13 advantage thanks to a 5-0 run. That was countered by a 4-0 run from the Owls, and the match was tied as late at 20-20. KSU closed out with five of the final seven points, with Ballou's kill finishing the set and the match.
QUOTEABLE: "That was a fight. It's a very coach thing to say but winning on the road in a deep league like ours is really hard. In my opinion JU played about as well as they could play, so credit to their players and their staff. We really struggled to slow their offense down, but I'm so proud of our team for continuing to battle and executing in big moments when sets were on the line. Lots of good attacking performances, I thought all of our back row players contributed and did some nice things. And I thought McKinley competed her tail off tonight which is exactly what you want and need from your setter and one of your leaders."
– KSU head coach Keith Schunzel
NOTES:
-KSU moved to 15-12 all-time against JU and have won the last eight in the series.
-The Owls won for the first time this year when it did not have a higher hitting percentage (.277 to .300 for JU).
-Three players finished in double-figures in kills, led by Ballou (14) and Johnsen, along with Schurfranz.
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McKinley Ferguson paced the team in assists (41), and
Shelby Dennis finished with a team-high 16 digs.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls remain in Jacksonville for a second straight game in Swisher, as they will take on North Florida in a key conference match on Saturday at 8 pm.
