By: Mark Wasik
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KENNESAW, Ga. – A trio of Kennesaw State players picked up weekly honors on Monday as Conference USA announced its Volleyball Players of the Week.
Manu Johnsen is this week's Offensive Player of the Week, while
Kourtney Brown and
Kaeley Walz were named the CO-Setters of the Week. This is the first CUSA weekly honor for all three players, while it's the third all-time career weekly honor for Brown and Johnsen after they picked up a pair of weekly accolades each from the Atlantic Sun during the 2023 season.
An outside hitter from Copenhagen, Denmark, Johnson led all Owls this past weekend offensively while helping KSU post back-to-back 3-0 sweeps at Louisiana Tech. Against the Bulldogs in the first game, she notched 20 kills and had a .410 hitting percentage, while also adding seven digs and two blocks. For the weekend, she had 31 kills for a 5.17 kills per set average, and also collected 3.33 digs per set while recording one double-double.
Brown, a redshirt sophomore from Birmingham, Ala., totaled 41 total assists and two aces along with 10 digs. Walz, a freshman from Louisville, Ky., was close behind with 39 assists, while also adding 19 digs. In the win on Saturday over the Bulldogs, she posted 18 assists and 11 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.
Thanks to the sweep, the Owls have now won three straight road games, and have moved into sole possession of third place in CUSA with a 9-5 mark, and are 12-13 overall after starting out the season at 3-8 in non-conference action.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls will close out their 2024 home schedule with a pair of games in the Convocation Center on Friday at 7 p.m. and a Senior Day contest on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Convocation Center. 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.
