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KENNESAW, Ga.. – Kennesaw State broke out of its recent slump in emphatic fashion Sunday, as the Owls claimed a thrilling five-set Senior Day victory (25-20, 22-25, 25-20, 18-25, 16-14) over Central Arkansas in the Convocation Center. With the win, the Owls moved to 17-9 overall on the year, and 10-6 in ASUN play to finish in sixth place. UCA meanwhile had entered the game with a chance of finishing in second place, the loss would send the Sugar Bears down to fifth place.
NEXT UP: Thanks to its sixth-place finish, the Owls will be the sixth seed in this week's 2022 ASUN Tournament, which is being hosted by Lipscomb in Nashville. KSU will open up in the quarterfinal round on Thursday with a 2 p.m. match against third-seed Jacksonville State. In the two meetings this season, the Owls swept JSU 3-0 in both matches.
OWL OF THE GAME: Freshman Manu Johnsen turned in a career-game, as she was just one kill off the KSU school record by posting a game-high 27 kills to go along with 14 digs, while she finished with a .389 hitting percentage (27K-6E-54TA). The only other player in school history with more kills in a match was Justine Young with 28 on Oct. 29, 2011 against USC Upstate.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Owls would finish the match with 10 more kills then the visitors, finishing with a 66-56 edge.
SET ONE: A mid-set 5-1 run put KSU ahead 15-9, and the Owls cruised from there, never letting UCA get any closer than five points. Senior Dani Ballou provided the winning set point off a kill
SET TWO: This set was tight the entire way, and was tied at 18-18. Caylan Koons sparked a 3-0 run for the Sugar Bears, as her kill and back-to-back aces gave UCA a 21-18 advantage on the way to the 25-22 win.
SET THREE: With the score tied at 14-14, the Owls took the momentum with a 4-0 spurt.
Dani Ballou again provided the winning points, first with a kill for a 24-20 lead, and then a block for the 25
th point.
SET FOUR: The Owls were looking to close out the match but the Sugar Bears refused to go away, breaking a 16-16 tie with an 8-1 spurt to take control.
SET FIVE: The final set was extremely competitive, with eight ties and four lead changes. UCA looked set to escape with the win when it held a 12-8 lead. It was 13-10 when Johnsen posted her 24
th kill of the match. That sparked a run of four straight Owl points, capped by an ace from
Emma Schurfranz for a 14-13 KSU advantage. UCA tied the game on the next point, before Johnson and
McKinley Ferguson notched back-to-back kills to claim the victory.
QUOTEABLE: "This was a really big confidence boosting win by our team today as we head into the tournament. Really proud of some huge leadership moments by our team down the stretch of that game. Emma ripped a bunch of critical serves at the very end to get us back even at 13, Lou (
McKinley Ferguson) made some great decisions down the stretch to give our hitters very killable balls, Shelby (Dennis) and Leah (Freeman) came up with some big passes and Manu and Dani took some giant, confident swings. Those are huge moments for us. Really proud of our players for letting it loose and going for it, because that's what it'll take this week in Nashville."
– KSU head coach Keith Schunzel
NOTES:
-In addition to Johnson's kills, Ballou and Schurfranz also finished in double-figures with 11 kills each.
-Ferguson's 59 assists were both a new career-high, and the most by an Owl in three years. It also tied for the ninth-most ever in a game in KSU history.
-Dennis paced the team with 19 digs.
-KSU swept the season series with the Sugar Bears, with both matches going the distance.
-Playing in their final home game and honored by the first serve were seniors
Chelsey Abel (seven kills, five blocks),
Jasmine Brown (eight kills) and Ballou.
