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HUNTSVILLE, Texas. – Kennesaw State Volleyball is now 4-0 in its past four games that have gone to five sets, as the Owls battled for a 3-2 (20-25, 25-14, 26-24, 24-26, 15-10) win at Sam Houston on Friday night in Conference USA action at Johnson Coliseum. With their sixth straight win, the Owls moved to 9-2 in league play, keeping them in a third place tie with FIU, and to 15-6 overall.
STAT OF THE GAME: It was a highly competitive match for the majority of the night, with a total of 13 ties in the opening set, 10 in the third set and 15 in the fourth.
OWL OF THE GAME: Junior
Olivia Burrage recorded the first double-double of her career, with 16 kills and a career-high tying 10 blocks. She also finished hitting .351 for the Owls.
THE RUNDOWN – The Owls led 15-13, and 17-16 before the Bearkats reeled off eight of the next 10 points for a 24-19 edge on the way to a 1-0 lead in the match. The second set was close early, before a 15-5 run put the Owls comfortably ahead 22-11. Burrage scored five points during that run, and KSU tied the match at 1-1 with a 25-14 set win. The next two sets were as close as they could be. KSU used a 3-0 run to steal a 26-24 set win in the third set to go up 2-1, before the Bearkats returned the favor, as they trailed 23-21 in the fourth set before going on a 5-1 run to tie the match at 2-2. In the deciding fifth set, an ace tied the game for Sam Houston at 8-8, but an attack error combined with a kill from
Maggie Butkovich gave the Owls the lead for good. Sam Houston did close within 11-10, but the Owls scored four straight to put away the victory.
POSTGAME QUOTES
KSU HEAD COACH KEITH SCHUNZEL
"A nice, hard-earned road win tonight. We certainly knew Sam Houston was going to be way better than their record indicated, because their league schedule has been brutal. They have played all six of the top six teams in our league thus far, and pushed many of them deep into matches. So coming into tonight, it was no surprise how good they were going to be and that this was going to be a tough road test.
We would have loved to start out a little cleaner early on, but we made a ton of errors in set 1 and had to battle back. I love how our team continues to stay poised and calm when our back is against the wall. The three sets that we won tonight we hit for huge numbers and did some terrific stuff, which is what this group is capable of. Tomorrow will be another big road challenge. I would love to see our first two touches be a little smoother and cleaner and that will go a long way to helping the game flow a little better on our side."
NOTES
-The six-game win streak is the longest for the Owls since the 2022 season.
-Manu Johnson recorded a team-high 19 kills and added 12 digs for a double-double.
-Also finishing in double-figures for kills was
Haley Patterson with 13 and
Kiernan Stamey with 10.
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Kourtney Brown was the third Owl with a double-double with 18 assists and 10 digs.
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Kaeley Walz led KSU in assists with 37, while Lead Freeman had a team-high 23 digs.
-The Owls finished with a 13-6 edge in team blocks.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls close out the weekend series with Sam Houston on Saturday with a 2 p.m. (ET) contest, streamed live on ESPN+.
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The Owls Fund is the primary fundraising arm of Kennesaw State Athletics with the goal of supporting our student-athletes, coaches and each of our 18 NCAA Division I programs. Through initiatives such as Legacy Lockers, the Dot Martin Scholarship Golf Classic, sport-specific giving opportunities, general donations and season tickets, The Owls Fund connects fans with KSU's programs and student-athletes. Members receive exclusive benefits such as hospitality seating areas and events at Kennesaw State home games, and more. Join The Owls Fund here and discover more opportunities on how you can support Kennesaw State Athletics.
