Kennesaw, Ga. – Dani Ballou had a match high 11 kills to lead the Kennesaw State Owls to a 3-0 (13-25, 23-25, 20-25) victory over the Furman volleyball team in non-conference action, Thursday evening at the KSU Convocation Center.

Furman drops to 1-3 on the season while Kennesaw State improves to 3-1 overall.

Ava Augustson and Mary Beth Headley led the Paladins offensively with seven kills apiece. Sarah Turner dished out 13 assists while Ella Abraham contributed nine. Defensively, Andrea Aceveda provided 15 digs and Genevieve Perry added three blocks.

Ballou led all players with 11 kills and Lanie Vantrease tallied seven to lead the Owls. McKinley Ferguson contributed 32 assists and Shelby Dennis recorded 16 digs. Claire Parsons totaled five assisted blocks.

Furman scored the opening two points of the first set before Kennesaw State responded with the next three. The Paladins stayed within one point several times early with the last coming at 7-6 on a kill from Augustson. Kennesaw State broke the set open courtesy of a 15-3 run to hold a 22-9 advantage. A Furman attack error gave the Owls the 25-13 win.

The Paladins held a two-point advantage to begin the second set and would go ahead 6-5 after Grainne McGrath connected on a kill. Kennesaw State outscored Furman 16-10 after that to take a 21-16 lead late in the set, forcing the Paladins into a timeout. The Paladins staged a late rally and cut their deficit down to one, 24-23, when Augustson registered a kill. The Owls captured the set on the following play.

Kennesaw State started the third set on a 7-2 run before Furman answered with a 7-1 run of its own to lead 9-8 when McGrath and Chandler Parker combined for a block. The Owls scored eight out of 10 points midway to hold a 16-11 advantage, but Parker and McGrath would later team up for another block to even the score at 18-18. Kennesaw State closed out the set outscoring the Paladins 7-2 for the 25-20 triumph and earned the 3-0 match victory.

Furman concluded the contest with six team blocks led by Perry's three. Parker and McGrath both had two assisted blocks while Sydney Tanner provided one solo and one assisted.

The Paladins are back in action on Friday afternoon when they face High Point at 1 p.m. from the KSU Convocation Center.