By: Mark Wasik
Friday, September 13
3 p.m. (ET) – Kennesaw State (2-5, 0-0 CUSA) vs The Citadel (3-3, 0-0 SoCon)
Location: Trojan Arena | Troy, Ala.
Saturday, September 14
3 p.m. (ET) – Kennesaw State (2-5, 0-0 CUSA) at Troy (3-3, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Location: Trojan Arena | Troy, Ala.
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KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State Volleyball is back on the road for the second straight weekend as the Owls will be competing in the Troy Invitational this Friday and Saturday at the Troy Invitational. KSU will start off against the preseason favorite in the SoCon, The Citadel Bulldogs, on Friday afternoon before taking on the host Troy Trojans on Saturday afternoon. Both games will start at 3 p.m. each day will be streamed live on ESPN+.
This will be the first-ever meeting between KSU and The Citadel in volleyball, while the Owls lead the all-time series with Troy 4-2, and have won the last three meetings in the series, though the last time the teams played was on Sept. 14, 2018.
KSU has played well away from its home court this season, as it posted a 2-1 record in the Mountaineer Invitational last weekend at Appalachian State. The Owls collected a pair of 3-0 sweeps over both Gardner-Webb and the host App State before falling to East Tennessee State.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Junior outside hitter
Manu Johnsen, a preseason All-Conference USA selection, has been the Owls' leader on offense as expected. She is posting a team-high 3.60 kills per set, and also has six aces and 44 digs on the season (1.76 dps). Her 101 points are also a team-high. Also having a strong start to the year is sophomore middle blocker
Olivia Burrage who is contributing 0.68 blocks per set and 2.04 kills per set while hitting a team-high .347. Freshmen front line players
Kiernan Stamey and
Ashlyn Anderson have also shined this year, averaging 2.04 and 2.00 kills per set, respectively.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
The Citadel are the defending SoCon champions and are also the preseason favorites in the league, and have posted a 3-3 record so far in 2024 after claiming wins over UT Martin (3-2), Grambling (3-0) and Montana State (3-1). Two of their three losses are on the road at Nebraska and Alabama, along with a neutral site setback to Denver in the Bulldogs last game.
Ali Ruffin is pacing the team this season with 3.30 kills per set, while MacKenzie Martin is also over three a game at 3.26.
SCOUTING THE TROJANS
Troy has had a strong start in 2024, as the Trojans are also 3-3 but they did own a 3-2 win at LSU, while two of the three losses came at the hands of Power 4 schools in Maryland and Auburn.
Tori Hester is posting 4.90 kills per set to pace the Trojans, while Amiah Butler is next with 3.67 kps.
