By: Mark Wasik
2024 KSU Volleyball Schedule
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KENNESAW, Ga. – Three straight weekends on the road in September and a pair of matches against Power Four competition, along with the debut of the Owls in Conference USA highlight Kennesaw State's 2024 volleyball schedule, as head coach Keith Schunzel announced the 29-game slate Thursday.
"As our program continues to move forward and push the envelope, it's important that we're playing a wide variety of high level teams, with different strengths, who will all challenge us," said Schunzel. "Our 2024 schedule is full of teams coming off very successful seasons, quite a few of whom will again compete for their respective league championships and at-large bids to the NCAA tournament, two goals that our program maintains every year. Right off the bat we kick things off with two teams in Wichita State and Indiana, who are two of the better teams we'll have ever played inside the Convo. But that makes for great motivation for our student-athletes over the summer and will be exciting for our fans. Then it won't get any easier from there as we hit the road for three straight weekends at strong programs in really tough tournaments before conference play begins. Buckle up!"
The first competition of the year will be the Kennesaw State Invitational, as the Owls will welcome Indiana from the Big Ten and Wichita State from the American Athletic Conference to the Convocation Center on Aug. 30-31. The Owls will open the event with their first-ever match against Wichita State in the afternoon on Aug. 30, and then take on the Hoosiers for again the first-time in program history that night. The following day will see another match between KSU and WSU.
The following weekend will be the first of three straight weekend road tournaments, as the Owls will take off for the Mountaineer Classic, hosted by Appalachian State in Boone, N.C., and featuring Gardner-Webb and East Tennessee State alongside the Mountaineers. KSU will then host a midweek game against in-state rival Mercer on Sept. 10, marking the first match between the schools since 2015.
Two more regional tournaments follow, starting at the Troy Tournament (Troy, Ala.) where KSU will face The Citadel on Sept. 13, and Troy on Sept. 14. Non-conference play for the Owls will conclude at the Clemson Tournament, where KSU will take on the Tigers Sept. 19 and Furman on Sept. 20 in Clemson, S.C.
KSU's first year in Conference USA will see each league team play each other twice on back-to-back days. The Owls will play four of their conference series at home, including their first CUSA contest against New Mexico State on Sept. 27-28. Also making the trip to the Convo this season will be Liberty (Oct. 12-13), Sam Houston (Oct. 18-19) and Middle Tennessee (Nov. 8-9).
Other highlights of the CUSA schedule include two road games at Jacksonville State (Oct. 8-9) as well as two games at perennial power Western Kentucky (Oct. 4-5). The regular season will end at UTEP on Nov. 15-16, while the Miners will also host this year's CUSA Tournament on Nov. 22-24 in El Paso, Texas.
Highlighting the returnees for KSU for this fall is 2023 Atlantic Sun First-Team selection Manu Johnsen, while the Owls also bring back a pair of all-freshman conference honorees in Olivia Burrage and Kourtney Brown.
