Kent State Volleyball Wraps Up Road Trip
11/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Golden Flashes look to build off of five-set win at Miami last Saturday.
The Kent State volleyball team looks to continue its winning ways as it wraps up a five-match Mid-American Conference road trip this weekend.
The Golden Flashes (9-18, 2-10 MAC) travel to Athens, Ohio, to square off against East Division leader Ohio Thursday (Nov. 3) at 7 p.m. The contest marks the conclusion of a five-match road swing for Kent State. The Flashes fell to the Bobcats, 3-0, on Sept. 29 at the M.A.C. Center. Kent State returns to the friendly confines Saturday (Nov. 5) to host Eastern Michigan in an interdivision showdown at 7 p.m.
The Golden Flashes split a pair of Mid-American Conference East Division road matches last weekend, falling at Bowling Green last Friday (Oct. 28), 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-21), before putting together a furious 3-2 (16-20, 20-25, 25-22, 25-15, 15-10) come-from-behind triumph at Miami Saturday (Oct. 29). The Golden Flashes improved to 7-2 in matches that go the distance in 2011. Kent State was just 1-6 in five setters in 2010. The victory over the RedHawks (12-13, 3-8 MAC) put a stop to a six-match losing skid for Kent State. The Flashes have won four of the last five meetings against Miami.
Junior Kathy Krupa (Burbank, Ill.) led the squad with 21 kills (2.62 per set) and a .359 attack percentage in addition to making her presence felt on the defensive end with eight total blocks (three solo, five assisted). After matching senior Maigan Larsen (Lancaster, Wis.) with a team-high seven kills in the loss at Bowling Green, Krupa led the charge in Kent State's come-from-behind triumph at Miami with a match-high 14 kills and seven blocks (three solo, four assisted). She reached double digits in kills for the ninth time this season and totaled more than five blocks for a team-best 10th time. Krupa leads the team for the season with 92 total blocks (23 solo, 69 assisted) and 0.90 blocks per set in addition to hitting at a team-best .279 clip. She also ranks second on the team in kills (239), kills per set (2.34), points (297) and points per set (2.92).
Kent State wraps up the 2011 campaign next weekend with a pair of home matches against division rivals.
The Flashes host Akron Friday (Nov. 11) at 7 p.m. in round two of the volleyball portion of the PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge, which is based on a time-honored competition for the historic wooden Wagon Wheel Trophy awarded originally in 1945 to the winner of the annual Akron-Kent State football game. For the 2011-12 academic year, the PNC-sponsored rivalry will broaden the competition to include 15 NCAA varsity sports, with victories in each sport adding one point to the challenge standings. In keeping with tradition, the annual winner of the football contest will gain possession of the historic wooden Wagon Wheel trophy, while the school that accumulates the most total points in all varsity matchups for that academic year will receive an overall series trophy. Kent State currently holds a 2-1.5 edge over Akron in this year's challenge. The Zips swept Kent State, 3-0, on Oct. 8 at Akron to gain a half a point.
Kent State battles Buffalo Saturday (Nov. 12) at 7 p.m. on Senior Day as the Golden Flashes honor Larsen and Brooke Zeigler (Parkman, Ohio) for their contributions to the program.
