Kennesaw State University Athletics

Kennesaw State Volleyball: Setting the Gold Standard

August 16, 2005 - Valerie Jones named First Head Coach in School History

The first step for the Owls' volleyball program was naming the coach for their inaugural season, and that was Valerie Jones, who would run the program for the first three years through the end of the 2008 season.

September 9, 2006 - First-Ever Victory in KSU History

As a first-year program, the Owls had a few bumps during the season but that didn't take away from the high of their first-ever win in school history, a 3-0 sweep over Providence in a tournament held at Loyola (MD).

August-September, 2009 - The start of a winning tradition

KSU entered year four of the program under new head coach Karen Weatherington, and immediately the move paid off as the Owls reeled off a start that still ranks as one of the best in program history. Wins over Marist and Bryant to begin the season started a 7-1 run in the first eight games. Overall, the Owls claimed their first-ever winning season (17-12), and first-ever conference winning record with a mark of 11-9, after claiming just seven total wins in the first three seasons. 

August 25, 2012 - First-Ever Power Five victory

The Owls claimed their first-ever win over a Power Five squad on Aug. 25, 2012, as the Owls went to a season-opening weekend tournament at Mississippi State and swept all three games, with wins over Louisiana-Monroe, Jackson State and Mississippi State. The wins at the Bulldogs marked the first-ever over both a power conference team and a team from the SEC.

January 28, 2013 - Keith Schunzel Era Starts at Kennesaw State

Named the third head coach in program history, Keith Schunzel came to the Owl program on Jan. 28, 2013. After two under-.500 seasons in his first two years, the Owls have known nothing but winning ever since. The Owls have won at least 18 or more games in each of the past eight (non-COVID) seasons, including a stretch of four 20+ win seasons in five years.

September 18, 2015 - School-Record crowd watches Owls wreck Georgia Tech

The Owls' first-ever win over an ACC squad was also a sign of the rise of the newest volleyball power in the state of Georgia, as the Owls took down Georgia Tech 3-1 in front of a Convocation Center record crowd of 1,556.

November 19-21, 2015 - Owls Reach Atlantic Sun Championship Game

It took just three years with Schunzel at the helm of the program for KSU to play for a conference title - after going 17-8 in the regular season, the Owls knocked off Stetson (3-0) and FGCU (3-1) to reach the ASUN title game for the first time in school history. The Owls would drop that match 3-0 at host Lipscomb, but that was just the start of several runs to the title game for the Kennesaw State.

September-October, 2016 - Win Streak Leads to First Conference Title

After a rough start to the season, in which the Owls actually dropped eight of their first nine, just as quickly they turned things around with a then school-record 12-match win streak. The streak started with a win over Georgia State in Atlanta and finished with seven straight over conference foes. 

November 11-12, 2016 - Regular Season Champions

With back-to-back 3-0 sweeps over North Florida (Nov. 11) and Jacksonville (Nov. 12) in the Convocation Center, the Owls claimed the program's first conference title in school history, as KSU finished tied for first place with a 12-2 regular season mark. 

August 29, 2017 - Taming The Tigers

The Owls claimed both their second-ever win and its first-ever road victory over a power conference team when Kennesaw State drove up to South Carolina and made quick work of the Clemson Tigers for a 3-0 victory. That was the first victory for KSU over an ACC squad as well. The Owls were not finished with their headline-making victories, as two weeks later KSU knocked off Georgia 3-0 in the Convocation Center. The two wins were part of a 6-1 start for Kennesaw State for the season.

September 22, 2017 - The Start of a Championship Run

After the Owls dropped two road games at Kentucky and Louisville, they returned home for a three-game opening swing in Atlantic Sun play. The Owls began with a 3-2 win over Lipscomb, then swept both FGCU and Stetson for a 3-0 start and a spot at the top of the standings. KSU would fall in its next game at Jacksonville by a 3-1 score, but the Owls would not lose again in the regular season. The Owls won their next 10 straight to claim another regular season championship with a 13-1 conference mark, made even more impressive by the fact KSU finished the season with three straight games on the road.

November 18, 2017 - We're going Dancing!!

As the top seed in the 2017 Atlantic Sun Tournament, the Owls received a bye into the semifinals, where they took down the host Lipscomb Bisons 3-1 to reach the championship game for the second time in school history. Facing FGCU, the Owls trailed in the opening set 20-19 before reeling off four straight to take control with a 1-0 lead, and led for the majority of sets two and three for a 3-0 victory. That gave KSU its first-ever ASUN Tournament title, and earned the Owls the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, the first-such appearance in school history. Anaiah Boyer was named the Tournament MVP after posting 12 kills and 13 digs in the championship match.

December 1, 2017 - NCAA Action

The Owls drew the Oregon Ducks as their first-round opponent, and the teams met in the BYU regional in Provo, Utah. KSU was the agressors early, taking an 11-4 lead and keeping the pressure up the entire first set before eventually falling 28-26 to fall behind 1-0. The Ducks would claim the next two for a 3-0 win, ending KSU's season at 21-5, which marked the first 20-game win season in school history. There would be many more to follow. 

November 16, 2018 - School-Record Victory

The Owls hosted the 2018 Atlantic Sun Tournament, and made history in their first game of the championships. A 3-2 victory over Lipscomb was the 24th win of the year for KSU, setting a new team record for most wins in a season. Unfortunately, the Owls were upset 3-2 in the championship game by FGCU on the next day.

November 23, 2019 - Redemption!!

After falling just one set short of earning league championship honors in 2018, the Owls were determined to come back strong for the 2019 season. After a year that saw the Owls knock off a pair of power conference teams (Georgia Tech, Alabama), KSU went down to the Sunshine State for the 2019 ASUN Tournament. The Owls swept Liberty 3-0 in the semifinals before taking down host FGCU 3-2 in the championship game for their second ASUN tournament title all-time. A 22-kill performance from Tournament MVP Dani Ballou and 20 kills from Lauren Chastang carried KSU to the championship. 

December 5, 2019 - Owls in NCAA Action Round Two

Kennesaw State made its second-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament as the Owls were sent to Bowling Green, Ky., to face host Western Kentucky. KSU again gave its all, taking the 19th-ranked Hilltoppers deep in each set before eventually falling 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-23).

September 9, 2023 - Hot Start Sets Several Team Firsts

The Owls pulled off one of the most impressive acheivements in program history when it knocked off power conference opponents in back-to-back games, after rallying from a 2-0 deficit to stun Mississippi State, 3-2, in the Kennesaw State Invitational. That came just 24 hours after the Owls took down Wake Forest, also in a 3-2 victory, which marked the first time KSU had defeated power conference teams in back-to-back days. It was also a school-record third power conference win of the season after KSU opened the year with a 3-1 victory over Oregon State in the Montana State Bobcat Blackridge Invite on Aug. 25.