The volleyball team kicked off the new season by unveiling its 2016 ASUN Regular Season Champions banner and with a 3-1 win over Troy University on Sunday, Aug. 27.
The Owls came out sluggish in the first set, trailing Troy until a late comeback allowed KSU to tie the score at 23-all. Troy still managed to win the first set 25-23, but after that, it was all KSU.
The second, third and fourth sets were a different story for KSU as head coach Keith Schunzel led the Owls in sealing the season opening victory.
“This was our first match of the year and no matter how much you simulate in training, the match is going to feel different,” Schunzel said. “I’m proud of our guys. We were ready to play and once we got through that first set we played a great match.”
Senior Aniah Boyer and junior Maddie Jones came up big for KSU. Boyer was relentless on the attack, racking up 15 kills while Jones, a defensive specialist, was essential to holding Troy to a .047 hitting percentage total for the match.
The team will hit the road for its Tuesday, Aug. 29 matchup against Clemson University. Losing 14 out of its last 15 matches last season, Clemson is looking to start fresh with a new head coach in Michaela Franklin.
“Clemson has struggled the last couple of years, but they have a couple of nice left sides,” Schunzel said. “They’ll be plenty to handle, so we’ll have to show up.”
The Owls have three more away games after they play Clemson on Aug. 29. They return to the Convocation Center to play Georgia State on Monday, Sept. 4.