Kent State University
10-10, 4-3
Ball State University
18-4, 6-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball State | 25 | 19 | 27 | 25 | 3 |
| Kent State | 21 | 25 | 25 | 10 | 1 |
Volleyball Falls in Four Sets to First Place Ball State
10/18/2013 9:48:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
KENT, Ohio – The Kent State volleyball team had done a terrific job of closing sets in recent weeks and entered Friday night's match against Ball State one game out of first place in the Mid-American Conference East Division as a result. The inability to do just that played a big part in the Golden Flashes falling to MAC West leader Ball State, 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-27, 10-25) Friday at the M.A.C. Center.
"It was a tough match," said head coach Don Gromala. "We came out and didn't execute very well. We started to big it up in sets 2 and 3. We had it rolling and they caught us off guard a little bit. They imposed themselves on us, which is something we've been doing to other teams the past couple of weeks. And that just carried over to set 4."
After dropping the opening set, the Golden Flashes (10-10, 4-3) came back strong in to even the match heading into the intermission. The Flashes continued their strong performance in the next set and were in position to seize the momentum of the match with a 24-20 advantage in the third. After allowing the Cardinals to tie the score, sophomore Kelly Hutchison delivered a big kill that gave the Flashes set point once more. Unfortunately, Ball State was able to score the next three points and take the set.
The Cardinals seemed to find their rhythm in closing out the set and kept rolling in the fourth. AS a team, Ball State posted 18 kills and a .500 attack percentage to decisively take the set, 25-10.
"At the end of set 3, they got some aces when they needed them. That's how they came back and we just couldn't put a ball away or make the right plays when it mattered."
Senior Aleksandra Nowak recorded the 3,000th assist of her Kent State career during the first set, becoming just the fourth player in program history to reach the milestone. Nowak finished the match with 38 assists, seven digs, four kills and four total blocks.
Kent State's offense received strong play from its middles throughout the night. Junior Liz Reikow led the way with a team-best 13 kills and hit .500 and matched Nowak for the team lead with four total blocks. Sophomore Bridget Wilhelm added 11 kills.
"Our middles were pretty good, even in the first set," Gromala said. "The second set our pins picked it up. Kelly started to get on fire and we started putting some balls away for her. It stressed them out because they didn't know where to setup their blocks."
Defensively, senior Hannah Herc led the Flashes with 22 digs. Sophomore Sarah Mills and Hutchison also tallied double-digit digs with 11 and 10, respectively.
Kent State returns to the M.A.C. Center tomorrow night for its annual 'Dig for the Cure' match. The Flashes will host Toledo at 7 p.m. Volleyball bingo will make its return on Saturday with a full card paying $25,000. Fans are encouraged to wear pink and a gift card will be rewarded to the 'pinkest fan' of the night.
"We're excited for the 'Dig for the Cure.' It's a great cause, not only for breast cancer awareness, but just cancer in general. It's touched a lot of our players and people within our program. We're excited to have people come out, support the cause, and cheer us on in a big match tomorrow against Toledo."
