Kent State's volleyball team takes to the road for a pair of matches this weekend with first place in the Mid-American Conference East Division on the line. The Golden Flashes (12-3 overall, 2-0 MAC), currently atop the MAC East, battle the Miami University Redhawks (7-7 overall, 1-1 MAC) at 7 p.m. in Oxford, Ohio on Friday (10/3) then travel to Bowling Green, Ohio for a 7 p.m. match with the Bowling Green State University Falcons (10-6 overall, 0-2 MAC) on Saturday (10/4).
Miami, currently third in the MAC East Division, was the preseason favorite to win the MAC East amongst the conference's coaches. Bowling Green, currently fourth, was slated to finish third and KSU was tabbed fourth by the MAC coaches in the MAC East. MU opened the conference schedule by defeating Bowling Green 3-1 and losing to Western Michigan 3-1 last weekend. The Falcons, in addition to losing to Miami 3-1, also dropped a 3-0 decision to Northern Illinois last weekend.
“We are facing two very good teams this weekend,” said head coach Glen Conley. “The keys for us this weekend will be serving and passing. When we serve and pass at the pace that we want to, we are very tough to beat. We need to play at a pace that benefits us.”
The Flashes enter this weekend's matches with the defending MAC East CoPlayer of the Week, Ashley Feutz (Muskegon, Ohio/Fruitport). Last week, Feutz registered a team-high 29 kills (4.14 per set) while hitting .451 with three service aces (0.43 per set), 5 digs (0.71 per set) and 35.4 points (5.07 points per set) in leading the Golden Flashes to victories over Buffalo and Akron last weekend. Feutz hit .500 with 13 kills in the Flashes 3-0 win over Buffalo (9/26). She totaled 16 kills and hit .414 with three service aces in KSU's 3-1 win over Akron (9/27). On the season, Feutz leads Kent State (12-3 overall, 2-0 MAC) in kills (196) and hitting percentage .345.
As a team, the Golden Flashes rank at the top of the MAC in highest hitting percentage (.251) and lowest opponent's hitting percentage (.140). Nationally, KSU ranks 43rd in service aces per set (1.67) and 48th in hitting percentage (.251).
