KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State volleyball continues to shine on its home court, as the Owls (4-1) posted a second straight 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-20) sweep in as many days, this time over previously undefeated High Point (4-1) on Friday night from the Convocation Center.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Owls' depth has been a key factor this season, and that was on display once again on Friday. Three KSU players all finished in double-figures for kills, with Emma Schurfranz leading the way with 13, while Jasmine Brown and Dani Ballou both added 10 each. HPU meanwhile had just one player with more than seven kills.
OWL OF THE GAME: McKinley Ferguson had a strong overall outing for KSU, finishing with five kills off just seven attempts, team-highs in assists (33) and aces (three), five digs and four block assists.
SET ONE: KSU and the Panthers were tied at 6-6, when the Owls took control with a 10-1 spurt for a 16-7 edge. HPU came no closer than six points, while Schurfranz recorded the clinching kill for the 25-15 win.
SET TWO: The next two sets were much more competitive. It was a very tight set for the first half of set two, as there were five ties and two lead changes. The final tie came at 9-9, as KSU was in the midst of an eventual 6-0 spurt. Five straight kills from the Owls were capped off by Ballou to give KSU a 13-9 advantage. The Owls led by at least four the rest of the way before winning by a 25-19 margin.
SET THREE: This final set saw 14 ties and eight lead changes, as neither team truly had the advantage until the very end. Matching each other almost point for point for the more then half the set, a pair of aces from Shelby Dennis along with two attack errors from HPU put the Owls up 23-19. Schurfranz notched the match-winning kill for a 25-20 set victory.
QUOTEABLE: "Really proud of our team to play that clean, and with that much competitive greatness this early in the year. High Point is a team that, because they have so many weapons, because they are used to winning, it's a difficult to play against and scheme and scout against. To beat them, your players have to execute. We served it strong, we passed great, McKinley was fantastic tonight, and I think it showed people the level we can play at, and we did that for the entire three sets." – KSU head coach Keith Schunzel
NOTES
-For the match, KSU held a season-high .320 hitting percentage (46K-14E-100TA). While High Point finished with a .202, the Panthers were limited to a .030 (8K-7E-33TA) in the first set.
-KSU finished with a season-high nine aces in the match, with five different Owls recorded at least one.
-Dennis paced the team in digs with 14.
-For just the second time in school history, the Owls have recorded three 3-0 sweeps in its first five games. The other time came in the 2015 season, with KSU swept Alabama State, Savannah State, Jacksonville State and Mercer in the first five games.
-The Owls avenged a loss to High Point from last season and gave them a 3-2 overall edge in the all-time series between the two schools.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls will host the seventh annual Griffin's Game on Tuesday, Sept. 6 at 6:30 pm against Samford in the Convocation Center. The game is a fundraiser for a local family dealing with childhood cancer, and Owl fans can visit KSUOwls.com/griffinsgame to purchase tickets ($10 each) and to make donations and buy Griffin's Game t-shirts.
