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2023 Atlantic Sun Tournament Bracket
KENNESAW, Ga. – The afternoon began with Senior Day celebrations for Kennesaw State's five seniors, and then the Owls, behind the stellar play of their senior group, claimed its fourth straight 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-22) sweep at home with a win over Bellarmine in Atlantic Sun volleyball action on Saturday afternoon from the Convocation Center. The victory gave KSU sole possession of fourth place in the conference, as after winning nine of their last 11 games the Owls finished 10-6 in ASUN action, and 17-10 overall.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Owls held Bellarmine below a .100 hitting percentage in both the second (.000) and third (.067) sets.
OWL OF THE GAME: Lanie Vantrease, making her first start since she was injured early in the match against Xavier on Sept. 16, shined on her Senior Day, as she posted a team-high 10 kills and added one dig in the victory.
THE RUNDOWN – Though it was a sweep for the Owls, they were in a battle the entire afternoon against Bellarmine. There were a total of 23 ties and 17 lead changes in the three sets, including 14 lead changes in the final two sets. KSU looked on the way to the win in the first set with a 22-19 lead, before the Knights scored five of the next six for set point at 24-23. The Owls wouldn't back down though, scoring the final three points, capped by a kill from senior
Emma Schurfranz, to complete the rally. The second set saw KSU with its largest lead of the day when it took a 22-16 advantage. Bellarmine closed within 24-21 before a solo block from Burrage gave the set to KSU. The largest lead either team held in the third set was three points, and twice late the Knights were up by that margin, including at 19-16. A 6-0 Owl run quickly changed the game. The run included back-to-back aces from
Gracie Pynes, and the Owls would go up 22-19. Bellarmine closed within 23-22 before Schurfranz scored the last two points of her career in the Convocation Center on a pair of kills for the Owl win.
POSTGAME QUOTES
KSU HEAD COACH KEITH SCHUNZEL
"It was a special day for our team and our program to honor our seniors and send them out in a great home environment against a good Bellarmine team. These five women have done so much for this program, on and off the court, and I'm really proud of how much they've grown and how much they've poured their hearts out in their time here. Overall, a nice win for our group. We continue to play really solid ball and are looking forward to getting down to the tourney and seeing what we can do."
NOTES
-Joining Vantrease in double-figures for kills was Schurfranz with 10 kills and 10 digs for a double-double. She also posted a .400 hitting percentage (10K-2E-20TA) in the win, along with two aces and two digs.
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Kourtney Brown led KSU with 28 assists, and Burrage had a team-high four blocks.
-KSU hit .228 (37K-16E-92TA) for the afternoon, while Bellarmine was held to .125 (32K-20E-96TA).
-The Owls are now a perfect 7-0 all-time against Bellarmine.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls will open play in next week's ASUN Tournament as the No. 4 seed, and will face No. 5 seed North Alabama on Thursday, November 16 at 4 pm. This year's tournament is being hosted by FGCU in Fort Myers, Fla., with the semifinals set for Nov. 17 and the championship game to be played on Nov. 18.
