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KENNESAW, Ga. – Facing its first action in nine days, Kennesaw State absolutely blitzed North Alabama in the opening set, then had to survive three more thrilling sets that all came down to the final point on the way to claiming a 3-1 (25-10, 27-25, 23-25, 25-21) victory in the ASUN volleyball opener for both squads on Friday night from the Convocation Center. The Owls moved to a perfect 5-0 at home this season with the victory, 8-3 overall, while the Lions dropped to 10-3 for the season.
STAT OF THE GAME: North Alabama came into the night ranked first in the nation in opponent hitting percentage at just .103. KSU showed right from the start this was a different level of challenge for the Lions, as the Owls hit .545 (19K-1E-33TA) in the opening set, and would finish the night at .275 (72K-22E-182TA). Both the kills and the hitting percentage by the Owls were the most by an opponent against UNA this season.
OWLS OF THE GAME: Emma Schurfranz and
Dani Ballou finished with nearly identical stats, as Schurfranz posted a team-high 16 kills, while Ballou was next at 15, and both hit .400 or better on the night, while also adding seven digs each. Schurfranz also collected a pair of block assists, while Ballou had a team-high tying two aces.
SET ONE: This was never in doubt, with the Owls jumping out to a 10-1 advantage and they never looked back.
SET TWO: This set showed the rest of the night was not going to be as easy as the opener. The Lions challenged KSU from the start, and went up 10-6 early. The Lions would lead the majority of the first half, until KSU tied the match at 14-14. It would be tied eight more times, and both teams held off a set point until back-to-back kills from
Claire Parsons and
Lanie Vantrease gave KSU the 27-25 victory.
SET THREE: Again KSU trailed at the start, this time by a 10-5 margin. It was an 18-15 advantage for the visitors when KSU reeled off four straight to go ahead 19-18. The Lions wouldn't give up easily, fighting back to grab the lead at 20-19. With the score tied at 23-23, a kill from UNA and an attack error from KSU gave the set to the Lions.
SET FOUR: The final set was tight the entire way, with the largest lead for either team was just three points once. With 11 ties and four lead changes, the final advantage for UNA came at 19-18. Thanks to a game-changing 6-1 run from the Owls, KSU went up 22-19 thanks to back-to-back kills from Schurfranz, and scored the match point off a kill from
McKinley Ferguson.
QUOTEABLE: "Credit to North Alabama for finding momentum in set two and battling point-for-point the rest of that match. We ended up in a real dogfight, so I'm definitely proud of our group for making some plays late in sets and figuring out how to win the ball game. A few nice individual offense performances and an excellent night from
Shelby Dennis at libero passing, digging, serving and running the back court. All in all, we'll continue to look for longer and longer stretches of clean volleyball, because when we are clean with the ball we are a lot to handle."
– KSU head coach Keith Schunzel
NOTES:
-KSU saw its 15-set win streak in the Convocation Center come to a halt with the set three loss to the Lions. The last time the Owls dropped a set on their home court was on Nov. 7, 2021 in a 3-1 victory over FGCU.
-KSU's 10-match home win streak is tied for the 15
th-longest active streak in the nation. It's the longest home win streak since a 15-game home win streak stretching over the 2016-2018 seasons.
-The Owls improved to a perfect 8-0 all-time against North Alabama with the victory, and have won their ASUN opener for the 11
th straight season.
-Four players finished with 10 or more kills, as Vantrease set a new career-high with 11, while Parsons also added 11. Ferguson posted her second straight double-double with 49 assists and 16 digs, while Dennis collected 27 digs.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls conclude the opening weekend of conference play by hosting Central Arkansas on Saturday at 5 pm in the Convocation Center.
