Kennesaw State volleyball dominates the court against Central Arkansas 3-0.
The Kennesaw State Owls shut out the Central Arkansas Sugar Bears 3-0 Sunday afternoon, improving their winning streak to three games.
“That was the best we’ve played in a couple of weeks and I’m really proud of the team,” Head Coach Keith Schunzel said following the big win.
The first set saw both teams fighting hard and quick, trading kills back and forth and passing around momentum. Each side came out to fight, utilizing the fast play and exploiting weaknesses where they could. The Owls took advantage of the Sugar Bears’ weak defense, combining for a staggering 13 team kills in a 25-17 win for the first set.
Manu Johnsen proved to be the most dominant figure on the court, slashing her way to seven out of the Owls’ 14 kills in the first set en route to the early win.
“It’s much more about the team for her right now,“ Coach Schunzel said about Johnsen. “She’s leading and putting a lot on her shoulders…she has done that since she got here.”
The Owls wasted no time following the short break in between sets, coming out to an early lead off the hands of an attack error by sophomore Leah Freeman, followed by two more Emma Schurfranz kills to put Kennesaw State up 6-1.
Solid net performances by Johnsen and Schrufranz remained the high points for Kennesaw State, combining for 18 kills before the entire Sugar Bears offense could do so.
As the second set progressed, both sides swapped momentum back and forth, with the Owls’ sharp offense and the Sugar Bears’ resilience were swapping momentum back and forth, with the Owls’ sharp offense and the Sugar Bears’ resilience showing in spades. Both sides were fighting hard, with either one needing a boost of momentum. The Owls wanted a quick showing and the Sugar Bears refused to go quietly.
Something had to give, and eventually it did, in the form of another Johnsen kill assisted by Freeman, putting the nail in the coffin and giving the set to the Owls 25-23.
Both teams were feeling pressure to dominate the third set, with the Owls hopeful to claim the shutout while the Sugar Bears simply wanted to stay alive.
The lead quickly leaned in favor of the Owls, seeing several opportunities taken advantage of and putting strong doubt on any comeback chance Central Arkansas were to try and take. Following a brief time out, the score sat at 9-3 KSU.
Wasting absolutely no time, the Owls kept riding momentum and pushing hard against the Sugar Bears, limiting their offense and stifling their defense on the way to a 25- 20 final set win, cementing the shutout and improving KSU’s record to 11-8 on the year.
The win serves as the third in a row for the surging Owls, who are seeing a reversal of fortune following the tough losing streak at the beginning of October.
“I think our game revolves around strong serving, blocking with aggression at the net, and digging in the backcourt,” Coach Schunzel said about his team’s strengths. “We get better offensively when our defense leads us.”
The Owls will play on Nov. 16 in Fort Myers Florida in the quarter finals of the ASUN Championship.
