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KENNESAW, Ga. – Big nights from
Manu Johnsen,
Olivia Burrage and
Caroline Chastang paced Kennesaw State to its fourth straight win as the Owls topped Middle Tennessee 3-1 (24-26, 25-22, 25-17, 25-21) on Friday night in Conference USA volleyball action from the Convocation Center. The Owls held onto sole possession of third place in the conference at 10-5, and stand at 13-13 overall after collecting their ninth win in their past 11 games.
OWL OF THE GAME: Chastang had a strong overall game against the Blue Raiders, as she finished with a double-double after posting 11 kills and 14 digs. She added two assist and a game-high three service aces as well.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Owls had one of their more consistent matches of the season, posting at least .200 in all four sets, including a match-high .412 in the third set (17K-3E-34TA). MTSU meanwhile was limited to under .200 in three of the four sets.
THE RUNDOWN – A 6-2 run midway through the first set put the Owls up 16-11, and KSU led 20-16 when the visitors made a run. Four straight points ignited an 8-2 spurt that put MTSU up 24-22. KSU kept the set alive with two straight points, before two more from the Blue Raiders ended the set and gave them a 1-0 lead. Set two saw MTSU jump out to a 4-0 lead and were up 6-3 when a 14-3 blitz by the Owls turned the set and the match around. Three straight kills, two from Johnsen and one from Burrage made it a 20-11 score and KSU would close out the set to tie the match at 1-1.
Set three was all Owls, as a 7-2 advantage was turned into a 17-9 lead thanks to an ace from
Kourtney Brown. Two straight kills from Johnsen sealed the win to put KSU up 2-1. The fourth set was a tighter contest, with the Owls holing a slight 15-14 lead before Chastang sparked a 4-0 spurt. Another 4-0 run put KSU up 24-17 thanks to back-to-back aces from Chastang, while Johnson finished the set and the match with another kill.
POSTGAME QUOTES
KSU HEAD COACH KEITH SCHUNZEL
"Tremendous effort by our team tonight. That's a big physical team across the net and they compete their butts off. We knew we'd have to match their energy and sustain a consistent level of execution throughout the match and for the most part we did both of those things.
We defended really hard today and offensively we found ways to make adjustments and score at a good clip. One more to go this weekend."
NOTES
-Johnsen led all players with 20 kills, while Burrage posted 14 kills off a .632 hitting percentage.
-Chastang and Freeman both tied for the team lead with 14 digs.
-Brown finished with a team-high 27 assists, while
Kaeley Walz added 25.
NEXT TIME OUT: KSU closes out its home schedule with a Senior Day contest against Middle Tennessee on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Convocation Center. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
