Liberty Set For ASUN East Division Opener at KSU

Liberty (6-4, 2-1 ASUN) opens ASUN East Division play on Friday at Kennesaw State (7-7, 1-2). The Lady Flames went 2-1 at the ASUN crossover in Nashville, Tenn., while KSU posted a 1-2 record in Jacksonville, Ala. Kennesaw State won all five meetings between these two teams this spring. The Owls ended Liberty’s spring season with a 3-0 win over the Lady Flames on April 2 in the quarterfinal round of the ASUN Volleyball Championship, at KSU Convocation Center.

Matchday Central Links

Game Notes

KSU Convocation Center

Kennesaw, Ga.

Liberty at Kennesaw State

Match Date: Friday, Oct. 1

Match Time: 7 p.m.

Live Video: ESPN+

Friday’s match features two of the top serving teams in the ASUN, as KSU ranks second in the conference and 29th nationally with 1.87 aces per set, while Liberty is third (67th nationally) with 1.67 aces per set. Liberty Lindsey Hardesty leads the ASUN in aces per set (0.47), while Kennesaw State’s Lauren Chastang is second with 0.45 aces per set.

Both Liberty (L 3-2 at Lipscomb) and Kennesaw State (L 3-2 at Jacksonville State) are looking to bounce back from five-set losses on Sunday night which wrapped up their opening weekend.

STARTING ROTATION

1. Making her collegiate debut last weekend, Kate Phillips scored 17 kills against Bellarmine. That was the most kills by a Liberty true freshman in her collegiate debut in the rally-scoring era. Phillips was named ASUN Freshman of the Week on Monday,and has posted three straight 10-kill matches.

2. Liberty has posted 10 or more blocks five times this season. On Sunday at Lipscomb, Madison Blane’s 11 blocks were the most by any Liberty freshman in a single match in the rally-scoring era (since 2001). Aspen Thompson recorded 10 blocks earlier this season against Duquesne.

3. Seven Lady Flames (Grace Allread, Rajini Fitzmaurice, Lilly Kruse, Kate Phillips, Kennedi Sutter, Aspen Thompson and Amaya Williams) have all posted at least one double-double this year. That is already the most Lady Flames to record a double-double in the same season in rally-scoring history.

4. 2021 Spring ASUN All-Conference second team member Lydia Burts set an ASUN single-season record with 1.57 blocks per set this spring. She posted 10 kills (.438) and seven blocks during her last match, Sunday at Lipscomb. Burts ranks eighth in the ASUN with 1.00 blocks per set.

5. Freshman Lindsey Hardesty has registered three 20-dig matches and has served up multiple aces on seven occasions. Her 22 digs on Sunday at Lipscomb were the most by a Liberty freshman since Margaret Latchford collected 26 digs against Radford on Nov. 19, 2015.

6. Junior Rajini Fitzmaurice scored 11 kills last Friday against Bellarmine, 12 kills on Saturday versus Eastern Kentucky and 13 at Lipscomb on Sunday. She leads the Lady Flames with six double-digit kill matches and three double-doubles through 10 matches this season.

7. Sophomore Trinity Watts, a 2021 VaSID All-State second team player, was named ASUN Player of the Week on Sept. 7. She leads the Lady Flames with 3.00 kills per set.