LOUISVILLE, Ky.—ASUN Conference volleyball road trips don't get much tougher than the one the Bellarmine Knights face this week.  On Friday, Bellarmine will take on league-leading Kennesaw State and less than 24 hours later the Knights face 2021 ASUN tourney runner-up Jacksonville State.
 
The KSU Owls are 12-4 overall and 5-1 in the league, which puts them on top of the ASUN standings.  Jacksonville State, meanwhile, is 16-3 with a 4-2 conference record (both losses coming to KSU).
 
While this week's road trip is challenging, it also features matchups with teams that have local connections. One of Kennesaw State's leading players, Emma Schurfranz, was a high school teammate of Bellarmine's Jayme Scott at Louisville's Mercy High School, and beyond that, the Schurfranz family has a long history with Bellarmine.  Both of Emma's parents are Bellarmine grads, and her mother (Molly Niehaus Schurfranz), uncle (Tom Schurfranz) and grandfather (the late Jim Schurfranz) are all members of the Bellarmine Athletics Hall of Fame for their accomplishments on the basketball floor.
 
Jacksonville State's program has even more ties with Bellarmine.  First off, Bellarmine Coach Rick Nold helped establish the Gamecocks as an Ohio Valley Conference powerhouse when he coached JSU nine seasons from 2002-2010.  Current Gamecock coach Todd Garvey, meanwhile, is a Louisville native whose father (Ken) was Bellarmine's head volleyball coach in the late 1970s.  Beyond that, current Knight Macie Garrison played her first two collegiate seasons at Jacksonville State.
 
Bellarmine (8-10, 2-4 ASUN) enters with the week fresh off a sweep of ASUN newcomer Queens University of Charlotte.  The 3-0 victory featured a pair of nice comebacks to claim the first two sets with Scott, the ASUN kills leader, improving on her per set average by totaling 19 in just three sets.
 
On defense, Bellarmine's Anna Lococo is continuing her solid play and is second in the league in total digs while ranking second in digs per set with a 4.25 average.
 
This week's opponents also feature a number of ASUN statistical leaders.  Kennesaw State middle blocker Claire Parsons ranks second in the league in blocks and fourth in hitting percentage while another KSU middle, Jasmine Brown, ranks third in hitting percentage (.345). Two of the league's service ace leaders are Owls with McKinley Ferguson topping the list and Dani Ballou ranking fifth.  Ferguson also is one of the top setters in the ASUN, ranking fourth in assists with a 10.34 average per set.
 
Jacksonville State boasts the ASUN's most accurate hitter with Katie Montgomery swinging at a .407 clip so far this year. The Gamecocks' Lena Kinderman is the team's top hitter and is fourth in the ASUN in kills—both overall (235) and per set (3.46). Claire Ochs, JSU's setter, enters the weekend third in the ASUN in assists with a 10.55 per set average, and the Owls' Kylie Quigley ranks third in the league in service aces.
 
In team statistics, KSU and JSU rank 1-2 in the ASUN in kills per set with the Gamecocks leading the league in hitting percentage at .287 while the Owls are third-best at .247.
 
For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow us on Twitter (@BUKnights), Instagram (BUKnights) and Facebook (BUKnights).