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KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State moved its home win streak to 11 matches, but the final outcome was in doubt until the final points as the Owls outlasted Central Arkansas in five sets, eventually claiming a 3-2 (25-18, 19-25, 28-26, 20-25, 15-12) on Saturday night in ASUN volleyball action from the Convocation Center. The win moved KSU to 9-3 overall, and a perfect 2-0 in conference action, while the Sugar Bears dropped to 7-7, 0-2 in the league.
STAT OF THE GAME: As it's been all season, the Owls' strength continues to be its balanced depth on the roster, and that was on display again against UCA as five different Owls all finished in double-figures for kills. In addition, the Owls finished the match hitting .274 (73K-28E-164TA), while UCA finished at .217 (58K-24E-157TA).
OWL OF THE GAME: Dani Ballou notched the first double-double of her career, thanks to a season and game-high 18 kills as well as a career-high 13 digs. She also hit .304 for the game (18K-4E-46TA) and added one block.
SET ONE: For the second straight night, the Owls started off hot in the opening set. KSU scored six of the first seven points of the night, and never trailed in the set, leading by as much as 10.
SET TWO: The Sugar Bears bounced back to knot the match at 1-1 as they grabbed the lead right from the start and never let up. The Owls did close within 22-18, before UCA scored three of the next four points to seal the victory.
SET THREE: This set could have gone either way, with a total of 14 ties and seven lead changes, more than the rest of the sets combined. KSU held off two straight set points from the Sugar Bears, and then came up with a kill from
Emma Schurfranz and a block from Schurfranz and
Claire Parsons to claim a 28-26 victory.
SET FOUR: The Owls led at the start of the set, before a UCA rally put the visitors ahead 10-7/ KSU closed within one at 14-13, but came no closer as UCA tied the match at 2-2.
SET FIVE: Again, it was a close set with neither team able to get separation. UCA tied the set at 12-12, when the Owls grabbed back the serve thanks to a kill from
Manu Johnsen. Ballou followed with another kill, while setter
McKinley Ferguson finished it with a kill of her own for the 15-12 set win.
QUOTEABLE: "Another good performance from our group against a well-coached, hard playing squad. There are always moments where you want to play a little better, make a couple less mistakes. I thought at times our defensive intensity and serving mentality lacked a little tonight. But all in all, I'm happy with where our group is at. We need to continue to improve because we are not close to our potential yet, but it's a nice start in the conference for sure."
– KSU head coach Keith Schunzel
NOTES:
-KSU's 11-match home win streak is the 13
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.
-This was just the second all-time meeting between the two schools, as the Owls avenged their upset loss to the Sugar Bears from the opening weekend a year ago.
-KSU was taken to five sets for the first time since the 2021 ASUN semifinals, a 3-2 loss to Jacksonville State on Nov. 19.
-Joining Ballou in posting a double-double was Schurfranz with her first of the year (15 kills, 11 digs.
-Also in double-digits for kills was Johnsen with a career-high 14,
Jasmine Brown with 12 and Parsons with 10. Ferguson added a career-high 61 assists, and
Shelby Dennis paced the team in digs with 19.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls will be on the road for the first time in conference play this season with a Friday, Sept. 30 contest at Liberty at 6 pm.
