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MIAMI – Olivia Burrage and
Manu Johnsen combined for 28 kills to carry Kennesaw State to a 3-1 victory (26-24, 17-25, 25-23, 25-20) victory at FIU on Saturday afternoon from the Ocean Bank Convocation Center. KSU evened the season series with the Panthers, and improved to 7-5 in Conference USA action.
OWL OF THE GAME: Burrage had an outstanding game for the second time in two days against the Panthers, as she posted a new career-high in kills with 16 while finishing with a .406 hitting percentage (16K-3E-32TA). She finished with seven total blocks in the win.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Owls' top four players combined for 45 total kills, while FIU had just 44 total as a team.
THE RUNDOWN – The first set was back and forth with 13 ties and five lead changes, as much as the rest of the match combined. Both teams made runs at the end of the set as well, as KSU scored three straight to tie at 21-21. Both teams then scored two straight each to again be tied at 23-23, before the Panthers held set point at 24-23. A kill from Burrage and back-to-back errors form FIU would give the Owls a 26-24 set win and a 1-0 lead. Set two though was in the Panthers hands almost from the start, as after the score was tied at 6-6, FIU reeled off six unanswered points for a 12-6 advantage. KSU did close within 13-11, but came no closer while FIU scored the final four points to tie the match at 1-1.
Set three did not start well for the Owls as they fell behind 4-1 early. The lead would go as high as six, 22-16 for the Panthers when the Owls shifted the momentum of the set and the match with a 6-0 spurt to knot the score at 22-22 off a kill from Burrage. FIU scored the next point, but a kill from Johnsen followed by two straight from Burrage gave the Owls a 25-23 win and a 2-1 edge. A 10-1 run midway through the fourth set gave KSU a 15-8 advantage, and the Owls led by at least four the rest of the way for a 25-20 set win and a 3-1 victory.
POSTGAME QUOTES
KSU HEAD COACH KEITH SCHUNZEL
"Cool response by our team today. Another rough set two by us, which is something we'll have to figure out. And then we got down big midway through the third. But we kept chipping away, we stayed optimistic, we got cleaner with the ball, and we made some big-time plays down the stretch of the 3rd and 4th. Really proud of our team today.
Super hard and emotional weekend for me personally and for anybody who was impacted by Amir (Abdur-Rahim) in his incredible life. And he truly impacted so many. That man was as great of a human being as you will ever find. He was a tremendous leader, and an even better father and husband. We had countless talks in each other's offices about our families, our student-athletes, our teams, leadership, and trying to balance our time between all of it. He was my friend and am so honored that he was in my life and I will miss him for the rest of my life."
NOTES
-Johnsen finished the afternoon with 12 kills and 21 digs for a double-double, while
Kaeley Walz also posted a double-double with 12 digs and a team-high tying 19 assists.
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Caroline Chastang registered 20 digs as well for KSU along with nine kills.
Ashlyn Anderson made a return from an injury to post seven blocks in the win.
NEXT TIME OUT: KSU will be on the road against next weekend with a trip to Ruston, La., to face Louisiana Tech. The teams will play a pair of games on Friday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 2 at 3 p.m.
