Kent State University
7-9, 1-2
Bowling Green State University
6-8, 3-0
Fast Start Not Enough for Golden Flashes Against First-Place Falcons
10/4/2013 10:45:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
KENT, Ohio – Kent State was one point away from taking a 2-0 lead over Bowling Green Friday night in front of a raucous crowd at the M.A.C. Center. Instead, the Golden Flashes (7-9, 1-2) saw the defending Mid-American Conference champion reel off three straight games, ending a three-match home winning streak.
Each set was highly-competitive as the Flashes lost 3-1 (28-26, 24-26, 22-25, 19-25). The match featured 31 ties and 13 lead changes as the East Division rivals went at each other for the majority of the evening.
"We came out firing and did an excellent job of executing the game plan," said head coach Don Gromala. "Offensively, we were making good decisions of when to be aggressive and swing away. On the defensive end, we were scrambling and making some plays to force them make the errors."
Freshman outside hitter Bianca Cifaldi was extremely aggressive in her return to the starting lineup with four early kills to put the Flashes ahead 6-5. The final swing was the first of a 5-0 run that gave Kent State a 10-5 lead that seemed to stun its opponent.
The Falcons responded with a 15-6 run and looked to be in position to steal the opening set. Kent State regained the lead and had two opportunities to close the door, but was unable to do so and found the tables turned and faced a 26-25 deficit. With the encouragement of the home crowd, the Flashes got three consecutive kills to take the set and early momentum.
"We play our best with our backs to the wall," Gromala said of his quad. "We just have to try not to get down that much to get us going later on in matches."
A kill by junior middle blocker Liz Reikow gave the Flashes a 24-21 lead in the second set and the Flashes' fans were on the edge of their seats ready to erupt. But just when it appeared as if Kent State was in the driver's seat, Bowling Green scored five consecutive points to even the match at one set apiece.
The Flashes played from behind in each of the final two sets. They were in position to regain the lead when they tied the third set at 22-all. Unfortunately, they were unable to score again and fell behind. After trailing 11-3 to open the fourth set, the Flashes managed to get within three points at 20-17. That was as close as it got, however.
Reikow came up big on both sides of the net, leading the Flashes with 13 kills and five total kills. Five different players got in on the block party, as Kent State posted 12 in the loss. Senior libero Hannah Herc anchored the back line of defense with 26 digs.
"We really talked about our defensive energy. So once we got some blocks, our game really picked up. That really drove our energy for tonight."
Senior setter Aleksandra Nowak recorded a match-high 45 assists as she orchestrated the Kent State offense. The crafty senior did a terrific job of exploiting holes in the defense with four kills and a .500 attack percentage. Cifaldi continued her terrific freshman campaign with 12 kills, reaching double-figures for the 12th consecutive match.
Kent State concludes Homecoming weekend at the M.A.C. Center against Miami on Saturday. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m.
"It's going to be a very different team tomorrow," said Gromala. "Their go-to players are a little different position than what we saw tonight."
