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RUSTON, La. – Kennesaw State moved into sole possession of third place thanks to a second straight road sweep on Saturday afternoon, a 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 29-27) victory at Louisiana Tech from the Thomas Assembly Center. KSU now stands at 9-5 in its first year in Conference USA, and are one game ahead of New Mexico State and Sam Houston, both tied fourth at 8-6.
OWL OF THE GAME: Olivia Burrage continued her strong run as of late, as she led all players with 14 kills while hitting .571 (14K-2E-21TA) from the floor. She also added three blocks and a dig in the win.
STAT OF THE GAME: Louisiana Tech was held under .100 in the first two sets of the contest (-.031 and .091), while the Owls registered a .258 and a .361 in their first two. KSU finished with a .231 (49K-19E-130TA), while the Bulldogs were limited to a .078 (27K-18E-116TA).
THE RUNDOWN – Unlike in Friday's game between the two, the Bulldogs held leads several times in the match, starting in the opening set when it went up 11-8. A 5-0 KSU run, fueled by kills from
Manu Johnsen and Burrage, put the Owls up 13-11. Louisiana Tech came back to tie the game at 13-13, but KSU scored nine of the next 11 points to open up a 22-15 lead on the way to a 1-0 set lead.
Set two was all Owls, as an 8-0 run put them ahead 14-6 before they closed out with a 25-14 win. Set three was a very different story, as for the first time this weekend the Bulldogs came out punching, scoring the first four points and opening up a 9-2 advantage. KSU wouldn't back down though, scoring four straight to started a 15-6 run to go ahead 17-15. The Bulldogs didn't back down though, as they held set point at 24-23 before the Owls tied it. Twice more Louisiana Tech would have set point before KSU finally finished off the set and match with a 29-27 set victory.
POSTGAME QUOTES
KSU HEAD COACH KEITH SCHUNZEL
"We continue to grow, which has been a huge theme for us this fall. Super proud of our team for continuing to push forward. We got a little sloppy and loose with the ball in the third set today, but that was the only time we did that all weekend, which is awesome stuff by our group. We were focused, intense and executed well nearly all weekend. We definitely have some nice momentum down the stretch. Just got to keep it one day at a time."
NOTES
-Johnsen finished the day with a double-double thanks to 11 kills and 13 digs.
Caroline Chastang led the team with 14 kills to go along with nine kills.
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Kaeley Walz also posted a double-double with 18 assists and 11 digs.
Kourtney Brown led the way with 21 assists.
NEXT TIME OUT: KSU will play at home for the final time this season when it hosts Middle Tennessee on Friday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m., and on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. which will also be Senior Day for the Owls. Both games will be in the Convocation Center and streamed live on ESPN+. Friday's game meanwhile is an Owls Fund Appreciation Night, which is open to all Kennesaw State Owls Fund members of any donation level, featuring complimentary food and beverage items with an exclusive premium area to watch the action on the court.
