Owls Fall to Shockers, Hoosiers in KSU Invitational - Kennesaw State University Athletics (2024)

• Summary
• Game 1 Box Score
• Game 2 Box Score

Elissa Windsor

Game Recap: Volleyball | 8/30/2024 11:10:00 PM | Mark Wasik

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KENNESAW, Ga. –A young Kennesaw State squad put up a tough fight in its opening two matches of the 2024 season, but would come up short in a 3-1 (25-21, 17-25, 16-25, 19-25) loss to Wichita State and a 3-0 (18-25, 22-25, 16-25) setback to Indiana on Friday in the Convocation Center. Both games were part of the Kennesaw State Invitational, which will conclude on Saturday with a pair of contests.

OWLS VS WICHITA STATE

STAT OF THE GAME:KSU hit under .200 in the final three sets of the contest, while Wichita State hit at least .303 in every set, and .436 (55K-7E-110TA) for the game.

THE RUNDOWN –The Owls began the day ready to play, taking an early 13-9 lead in the opening set against Wichita State. The Shockers closed within one, but Owl freshman Ava Garner came up big near the end, with her kill giving KSU a 25-21 set one win. Set two saw the Shockers jump out to a 10-4 edge, and after KSU closed within two, a 4-0 run led the visitors to a 25-17 victory and to tie the game at 1-1. Set three saw a big chance in momentum, with KSU leading 12-11 on a kill from freshman Kiernan Stamey, before the Shockers reeled off seven unanswered for an 18-12 lead. WSU finished off the set with a 25-16 win. The Owls opened up set four with a 6-1 spurt, highlighted by a pair of aces from Kourtney Brown. KSU led 16-11 when the Shockers closed out the game with a 14-3 run for the set and match victory.

NOTES
-This was the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
-Manu Johnsen paced KSU with 15 kills, while Olivia Burrage, Garner and Stamey all added nine kills each.
-Brown and Kaeley Walz posted 25 and 21 assists, respectively, while Caroline Cole led the team with 10 digs.

OWLS VS INDIANA

STAT OF THE GAME:Indiana finished with 47 kills to 21 for the Owls, and also posted a .420 hitting percentage (47K-13E-81TA), while KSU finished at .123 (21K-12E-73TA).

THE RUNDOWN –Indiana started out strong with a 7-0 run to build a 12-5 edge in set one on the way to a 25-18. KSU did close within 19-17, before the Hoosiers scored six of the last seven points. Set two saw the Owls take an early 5-2 lead, helped by a pair of aces from Brown. A kill from Olivia Burrage put KSU up 19-15. IU scored four straight to tie the set, and then scored seven of the final seven for the second straight set to win 25-22. Set three was tied at 9-9 after a kill from Manu Johnsen. A 5-0 run put IU up 14-9, and a 9-2 run sealed the set and the match.

NOTES
-This was the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
-Stamey had a team-high seven kills, while Johnsen added six.

POSTGAME QUOTES
KSU HEAD COACH KEITH SCHUNZEL
"First off, those are two very good ball clubs we played today. Experienced teams, excellent setters, great coaches and big physical athletes. So is it frustrating to be 0-2, sure. But did I see a lot of really good things from our group in both matches, absolutely. I was really pleased with our serve and thought our offense had some really clean nice stretches today. Our block and defense needs to get way better. Some of that is technical, and some of that is effort, but for us to only have 16 digs total in three sets against Indiana is not going to cut it. I want to give a shout out to our freshmen who played a fantastic first day of college volleyball. Three of them started and played big minutes today and all were composed, made plays and competed with maturity and did high-level stuff all day. Our team has a very high ceiling and as long as we keep working and growing, great things are ahead for us."

NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls close out the weekend with a 3:30 p.m. contest on Saturday against Wichita State. Indiana and Wichita State will play in the first game of the day at 11 a.m.