Follow KSU Volleyball - X | Instagram
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – Kennesaw State Volleyball claimed its first-ever road win in Conference USA play, as well as its first-ever sweep with a 3-0 (28-26, 25-19, 25-20) win at Jacksonville State on Tuesday night from Pete Mathews Coliseum.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Manu Johnsen continues to shine on offense, posting a game-high 13 kills to go along with 10 digs for a double-double. She also added three aces in the win.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Owls held almost a 60% sideout percentage, finishing at 59.7%, and held Jax State to a 0.39 hitting percentage (23K-19E-102TA).
THE RUNDOWN – The opening set was by far the most competitive, with 13 ties and eight lead changes. Neither team could get a big advantage, but the Owls would lead most of the match thanks to a 7-1 run that made the score 9-5. Jax State came back to tie the set at 10-10, and the Gamecocks would go up 13-12. A 5-0 run put KSU back up 17-13, but a 5-0 spurt gave the home team a 22-21 advantage. The lead switched hands three more times, and both teams had two set points each before an ace from Johnsen gave KSU a 28-26 win and a 1-0 lead.
Set two saw JSU go up 7-3, but the Owls countered with runs of 3-0 and 4-0 to tie the game at 10-10. Jax State took the lead back and was up 14-12 but a service error gave the ball back to KSU.
Caroline Chastang meanwhile recorded an ace for the Owls, leading to a 5-0 run and KSU never trailed again.
Set three was anyone's game through the first half, with Jax State taking a 12-11 lead. That would be their last advantage of the night, as KSU scored seven of the next nine points to go up 18-14 on a kill from
Ava Garner. The Gamecocks closed within 19-18, and then Garner answered with a kill and a block from
Maggie Butkovich and
Olivia Burrage pushed the edge back to three. For the second time, Johnsen sealed the set with an ace to give KSU the sweep.
POSTGAME QUOTES
KSU HEAD COACH KEITH SCHUNZEL
"Pleased to see us work through some rough play and rough patches and continue to compete and find a way to pull out a road conference sweep. Jax State serves the ball very aggressively and they got us on our heels early and really disrupted us from getting into rhythm on offense. Proud of the team. Rest up and get ready for round 2 tomorrow."
NOTES
-The Owls moved their win streak in the all-time series to four straight with the win.
-This was the second road win of the year for the Owls, and both have been by sweeps as KSU also took down Appalachian State 3-0.
-Freshman
Ashlyn Anderson posted a strong game with nine kills and a team-high .467 hitting percentage.
-
Leah Freeman had a team-high 12 digs, while
Kourtney Brown led with 15 assists and Burrage posted seven blocks.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls will face Jax State again on Wednesday afternoon in a 3 p.m. contest on ESPN+.
