KSU at North Florida State Box Score
 
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Kennesaw State and North Florida went the distance in a thrilling ASUN volleyball contest Saturday night, as the Owls saw their six-game win streak snapped in a 3-2 (25-20, 9-25, 25-27, 25-20, 15-13) setback in Swisher Gymnasium. The loss dropped KSU back into a three-way tie for first place with Liberty and Lipscomb, as all three teams have 8-2 league records, while the Owls moved to 15-5 overall.
 
The loss spoiled a night that saw two Owls hit career milestones. Senior Dani Ballou reached the 1,000 career kills mark, as she recorded eight on the night and currently stands at 1,001, which ranks her sixth all-time at KSU. Senior Shelby Dennis meanwhile also hit the 1,000 mark in career digs, and stands with 1,019, moving her past Lauren Chastang into fifth-place all-time at KSU.
 
STAT OF THE GAME: The Owls hit under .225 in all three of its set losses, including .143 (7K-3E-28TA) in the deciding fifth set.

SET ONE: KSU trailed early 6-1, but would come back to take a 12-11 advantage on a kill by Ballou. It was still a tight set at 18-17 in favor of UNF when the Ospreys scored five straight for a 23-18 advantage on the way to the win.

SET TWO: KSU answered back with authority in the second set, using a 17-4 spurt to turn a 6-3 lead into a commanding 23-7 advantage. The Owls held UNF to just nine points in the set, tied for the lowest points in a set by a KSU opponent this season.

SET THREE: Sets three-five could have easily gone either way. In the third set, the Ospreys led 17-16 when KSU four of the next five to go up 20-18. UNF came back and tied the game several times, the last at 25-25, before McKinley Ferguson and Lanie Vantrease finished off the set with back-to-back kills.

SET FOUR: The Owls went up 7-5 before UNF countered with a 9-3 run to go up 14-10.  KSU stayed within 3-5 points the rest of the way but couldn't force a tie before falling by five.

SET FIVE: The fifth set was as tight as it could be, with seven total ties, including at 12-12. UNF took the advantage with back-to-back kills to go up 14-12. KSU cut the lead to 14-13, until the Ospreys recorded the final kill to claim the match.

QUOTEABLE: "Really proud of our team for battling our butts off. We had a lot of things working against us tonight but we kept fighting until the last point. Our team is going to be just fine. We're growing and getting better as this season goes on. I'm super proud to lead this group and play the game the right way like we've always done." – KSU head coach Keith Schunzel 

NOTES: 
-The loss was the first to the Ospreys since the 2019 season, and just the ninth overall in the 27-game series between the two.
-Manu Johnsen paced the Owls with 14 kills and she added 10 digs for a double-double.
-Also in double-figure kills was Claire Parsons with 11.
-Ferguson led the Owls in assists with 44, Dennis had a team-high 24 digs, and Parsons also paced the team in blocks with five.

NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls come back home to Kennesaw to host a pair of ASUN opponents, starting on Friday, Oct. 28 with a 7 pm contest against Stetson. That will be followed on Saturday, Oct. 29 with a 5 pm match against FGCU, with both games being held in the Convocation Center.
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