Kent State Volleyball Visits Raleigh For The Courtyard Midtown Classic
8/29/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Golden Flashes will battle Virginia Commonwealth, host NC State and South Florida this weekend (Aug. 31-Sept. 1).
Kent State volleyball's 2012 non-conference slate continues this weekend (Aug. 31-Sept. 1) in Raleigh, N.C., with The Courtyard Midtown Classic.
The Golden Flashes (1-2) take on Virginia Commonwealth Friday (Aug. 31) at 4 p.m., then battle host North Carolina State and South Florida Saturday (Sept. 1) at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively. For live updates on the The Courtyard Midtown Classic., follow Live Stats and follow the Flashes on Twitter @KentStVball.
Scouting the Golden Flashes
• The Golden Flashes finished the opening weekend of the 2012 season with a 1-2 mark after falling to host IPFW, 3-0 (25-23, 27-25, 28-26), in the final match of the Hyatt Place Fort Wayne/IPFW Invitational last Saturday (Aug. 25). Kent State rebounded from a 3-0 (26-24, 25-15, 25-21) loss to Cleveland State last Friday (Aug. 24) by cruising past Murray State, 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 27-25), the next morning, marking the first victory for first-year head coach Don Gromala and his staff and the first win of the 2012 campaign for the Golden Flashes.
• Freshman right side hitter/outside hitter Kelly Hutchison (Columbus, Ohio) made her mark in her first weekend competing at the NCAA level, leading the Golden Flashes with 36 kills and a hitting percentage of .346 in three starts and earning all-invitational team honors for her efforts. She reached double figures in kills in all three matches, totaling a team-high 11 against both Cleveland State on Friday (Aug. 24) and Murray State (Aug. 5) before tallying a career-high 14 to lead the Flashes against host IPFW (Aug. 25).
Hutchison is tied for second in the Mid-American Conference in hitting percentage and ranks fourth kills. The Golden Flashes are currently ranked second in the MAC in team hitting percentage (.221).
• Sophomore middle blocker Liz Reikow (Holland, Mich.) was Kent State's defensive standout during the opening weekend of the 2012 NCAA volleyball season, leading the Golden Flashes with 13.0 blocks (six solo, seven assisted) in three starts.
Reikow currently ranks third in the MAC in total blocks while the Flashes are ranked first in the conference in both team blocks per set (2.89).
• Kent State is 4-0 all-time against North Carolina State and is 0-1 all-time against Virginia Commonwealth. The Golden Flashes will be facing South Florida for the first time this weekend.
Next Up
Kent State will compete in front of their home fans for the first time in 2012 next weekend (Sept. 7-8) as the Golden Flashes play host to the Fifth Annual Kent State Mizuno Classic.
