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KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State Volleyball remained perfect all-time on its home court against Liberty, but it was not easy as the Owls rallied for a 3-2 (25-22, 18-25, 23-25, 25-13, 16-14) victory on Saturday afternoon in Conference USA action from the Convocation Center. With their third straight victory, the Owls moved to 7-11 overall, but more importantly 4-3 in league play. Liberty meanwhile suffered its first loss in conference play this season, dropping to 10-7, 4-1 in CUSA.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Junior
Manu Johnsen continues to power the Owls, as she recorded her team-high sixth double-double of the year after posting a game-high 19 kills to go along with 12 digs. She also added four blocks and an ace in the victory.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Owls were the more composed team over the final two sets after falling behind 2-1, as they hit .391 in set 4 and .292 in set 5. Liberty meanwhile played its worst ball of the day in the fourth set, committing 11 errors on the way to a -.121 hitting percentage in the fourth set, and .238 in the final set. Overall, KSU outscored the Flames 41-27 over the the final two sets.
THE RUNDOWN – In what ended up being the most back and forth set of the match as there were 13 ties and seven lead changes, KSU took an early advantage when a 4-0 run turned a 17-16 deficit into a 20-17 lead in the opening set. Freshman
Ava Holtz recorded back-to-back aces to cap off the run, and back-to-back kills from Johnsen gave KSU a 1-0 edge.
Set 2 meanwhile saw the Owls holding a 13-10 lead when the Flames made their run, scoring 12 of the next 13 points to go up 22-14 on the way to the win and toe the overall match at 1-1. Set 3 saw Liberty lead for the majority of the match, but the Owls would not go away easily. Down 16-11, KSU slowly climbed back into the set, tying the score at 18-18 off Holtz's third ace of the game and taking a 22-21 lead off a block by
Olivia Burrage and
Kiernan Stamey. Four of the next five points were scored by the Flames though to give them a 25-23 lead and a 2-1 edge in the match.
KSU came out on first in set 4, scoring six of the first seven points for a 6-1 edge. After the Flames closed within 13-12,
Maggie Butkovich recorded a kill to ignite a 10-0 run for KSU. A block form
Maggie Byrd and Butkovich capped the set and tied the match at 2-2. In the fifth and final set, Liberty took its first and only lead on a 3-0 run to go ahead 5-4. The Owls answered with four straight to grab the lead back at 8-5. The set would be tied three more times, the last at 14-14 after KSU had match point. The Owls would seal the rally though after a Flames error and a Stamey kill for the win.
POSTGAME QUOTES
KSU HEAD COACH KEITH SCHUNZEL
"We continue to talk about growth with this team and today we saw exactly that. We were up and down for the first three sets with our level of play on both sides of the ball. But the growth part came with how we responded in sets 4 and 5. We pressured Liberty with steady and consistent serve, block, and defense in set 4 and then we played an extremely aggressive set 5. Not perfect, but we were confident and aggressive. Kiernan (Stamey) and (Maggie) Butkovich were fantastic down the stretch of that match and Manu was the best player in the gym today.
NOTES
-The Owls are now 8-0 all-time at home against the Flames, and 14-1 all-time in the series between the two schools.
-Stamey and Butkovich both finished with strong games offensively, finishing with nine kills each.
-Setters
Kourtney Brown and
Kaeley Walz recorded 24 and 20 assists, respectively.
-Burrage posted a season-high nine blocks to go along with seven kills.
-KSU finished the game with advantages in aces (7-5) and team blocks (14-13).
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls close out the weekend series with Liberty with a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday in the Convocation Center, in a game televised live on ESPN+.
