KSU vs Jacksonville State Box Score
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KENNESAW, Ga. – Less than 48 hours after its best game of the season in a 3-0 road win at first-place Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State topped that performance as it again swept the Gamecocks 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 26-24) on Sunday afternoon from the Convocation Center to take over sole possession of first place in the ASUN volleyball standings. Thanks to their 12
th straight win at home, which ties for the ninth-longest active home win streak in the nation, the Owls improved to 12-4 overall on the season, and 5-1 in league play, while JSU dropped to 16-3, and 4-2 in the conference.
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STAT OF THE GAME:Â The Gamecocks entered this weekend limiting their opponents to .151. KSU had no problems with its attacks on Sunday though, finishing with a season-high .394 attack percentage (49-8E-104TA). That included a second set in which KSU had zero errors and a .548 (17K-0E-31TA) percentage.
OWL OF THE GAME:Â Emma Schurfranz led all players in kills with 14 while posting a .458 hitting percentage (14K-3E-24TA).
Dani Ballou meanwhile notched her second double-double of the year with 10 kills and 10 digs.
SET ONE:Â KSU led from start to finish, scoring the first six points of the afternoon. Four different Owls recorded a kill during that run, to showcase the balanced attack on show for KSU. JSU would close within two twice, at 14-12 and 19-17 but the Owls answered every charge. A kill from Jazmine Brown finished off the set for the six-point win.
SET TWO:Â This set was tied at 4-4 before the Owls started to pull away, opening up a 12-7 advantage off a
Manu Johnsen ace. KSU led by as much as 11 three times before closing out the win.
SET THREE:Â Again the Owls went ahead early, and were up by five at 15-10. The Gamecocks would not go away quietly in this set however, slowing chipping into the edge. A 3-0 run gave JSU a 22-21 advantage off an ace, one of 10 for the day for the visitors. JSU actually held a set point at 24-23, but a kill by Ballou tied the match. A block from the Owls and then a kill by Schurfranz finished off the set and the sweep.
QUOTEABLE:Â "That's a heck of a weekend by our team. We were consistent and locked in, but loose and free. Today was one of the best combined offensive and defensive performances we've had in a long time. This weekend happened because of the week we had both mentally and physically leading up to the games. I'm super proud of our women."
– KSU head coach Keith SchunzelÂ
NOTES:Â
-The win marked the first time in program history the Owls have recorded back-to-back wins over a Top-50 RPI opponent, as the Gamecocks came into the weekend at 47.
-This was the ninth 3-0 sweep of the season for Kennesaw State. That's the most in the first 16 games of the season in school history. The 2017 squad currently holds the records for the most 3-0 sweeps with 14.
-The Owls held JSU to a .125 (31K-18E-104TA) hitting percentage for the game.
-For the second straight game the Owls held a bid advantage in team blocks at 10-4.
-Also having strong games on Sunday were
McKinley Ferguson with 39 assists, eight digs, four kills, two blocks and two aces, and Johnson with eight kills, three blocks and three digs.
Claire Parsons meanwhile posted a team-high seven blocks along with four kills and an ace.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls continue their conference homestand by hosting Bellarmine on Friday, Oct. 14 at 7 pm. That will be followed by a Saturday, Oct. 15 contest against Eastern Kentucky in a contest that has now been moved back an hour to a 6 pm start. Both games will be played in the Convocation Center.
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