Kent State University
10-9, 4-2MAC
Central Michigan University
8-10, 2-4MAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent State | 25 | 27 | 25 | 3 |
| Central Michigan | 23 | 25 | 21 | 0 |
Kent State Sweeps Central Michigan for Third Straight Victory
10/12/2013 9:30:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Coming off one of the biggest wins in program history, the Kent State volleyball scrapped its way to a 3-0 victory (25-23, 27-25, 25-21) over Central Michigan Saturday evening at McGuirk Arena. The Golden Flashes (10-9, 4-2) captured their third straight victory and sent a message to the rest of the Mid-American Conference that they are not a one-match wonder in the process.
"We didn't play great tonight, but we played well enough to win and that's what's important," said head coach Don Gromala. "We played steady at those critical moments that we've talked about and made them make the mistakes at the critical points."
Sophomore Kelly Hutchison led the way for the Flashes with 11 kills, five digs, four total blocks, an ace and numerous big plays at critical moments throughout the match.
Both teams struggled on offensive early, hitting worse than .025 in the first set, which featured 12 ties and six lead changes. Central Michigan seemed as if it had finally pulled way and took a 23-20 advantage. But similar to the how it rallied to finish off No. 18 Ohio on Thursday evening, Kent State won five straight points to steal the set. Hutchison came up with a huge block to even the score, which was sandwiched between a pair of attack and ballhandling errors by the Chippewas.
The offense picked up in the second set and the Flashes hit .317, but it was the defense that came up with the big plays in critical moments. Knotted at 22-22, senior Aleksandra Nowak and junior Liz Reikow combined on a block and freshman Bianca Cifaldi followed with a block of her own to give the Flashes an opportunity for set point. While the Chippewas refused to give up, Hutchison made another huge block to take the set, 27-25.
"I was really impressed with how composed we were," Gromala said. "And that's why we ended up winning those first two sets."
Kent State led by as many as seven points in the third, only to have Central Michigan come back and cut it to two at 23-21. Looking to put the match away, the Flashes found their go-to hitter and Hutchison delivered a kill to give them a sideout. Sophomore Bridget Wilhelm did not waste any time, and closed the match with an ace on the ensuing point.
Nowak had another solid night with 31 assists and four kills on just six attempts. Reikow and Wilhelm gave the Flashes' offense a boost in the middle, combining for 13 kills and a .323 attack percentage. Defensively, senior Hannah Herc led Kent State with 12 digs and sophomore Sarah Mills added 11.
Kent State returns to the M.A.C. Center next weekend for cross-divisional matches against Ball State and Toledo.
