Volleyball took on North Alabama Lions on Friday, Sept. 23, bringing back a 3-1 in their ASUN opener at home.
This past weekend, Kennesaw State bombarded North Alabama in the opening set. There was a huge advantage for the Owls as they were ahead 13 points during the first set giving them the lead of 1-0.
Throughout the second set, it was a tough one for the Owls. The Lions challenged KSU from the start and went up 10-6 early. Both teams showed determination to finish out the set with a win but again the Lions would lead the majority of the first half until the Owls took a turn and tied the match at 14-14. In this set, Claire Parsons and Lanie Vantrease were key players who gave the Owls the 27-25 victory.
Set three continued to be a challenge for the Owls, the Lions did not give up easily and continued to fight back during set three. In the beginning, the Lions had a four-point advantage of 7-3. The Lions felt confident in taking this set and turning around the Owls’ lead of 2-0. With the score tied at 23-23, a kill from UNA and a failed attack from KSU gave the set to the Lions.
Set four was the Owls’ chance to fix what they lacked during set three to secure their win. The final set was tight and tough the entire way, but luckily KSU went up 22-19 thanks to a streak of kills from Emma Schurfranz. Schurfranz scored the match point off a kill coming from McKinley Ferguson.
Overall, the match was competitive, but the Owls were able to secure the win in their ASUN opener at the Convocation Center. This was a tough loss for the Lions as they dropped to 10-3 for the season. The named Owls of the game were Schurfranz, who made a huge impact during the last set with the back-to-back kills, and Dani Ballou, who ended the game at 15 kills.
“Credit to North Alabama for finding momentum in set two and battling for point the rest of that match,” Head Coach Keith Schunzel said, “We ended up in a real dogfight, so I’m proud of the team for making some plays late in sets and figuring out how to dominate the match.”
KSU saw its 15-set win streak in the Convocation Center come to halt with a set three loss against the Lions. The Owls improved to a perfect 10-match home win. Overall this season, the Owls have done very well and improved to an undefeated 8-0 all-time against North Alabama with this victory and also have won their ASUN opener for the 11th straight season.
KSU will play its next match against Liberty University on Sept. 30 at 6 p.m. in Lynchburg, VA.
