Kent State Earns Saturday Split to Conclude Opening Weekend at Indiana Invitational

Saturday, August 31

Bloomington, Ind.

9:30 a.m.

Kent State University

1-1

Robert Morris University

0-2

Kent State

Robert Morris

Photo by: Kent State University Communications & Marketing

Kent State Earns Saturday Split to Conclude Opening Weekend at Indiana Invitational

8/31/2013 10:30:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Kent State impressed in a pair of matches Saturday at the Indiana Invitational. The Golden Flashes arrived to University Gymnasium early in the morning for a 9:30 a.m. contest, topping Robert Morris in straight sets and returned in the evening to push host Indiana in the weekend finale before falling, 3-1.

"I think our girls learned a lot about themselves and believing in their ability to compete no matter what team we're playing," said head coach Don Gromala. "We got better throughout the weekend, and our goal in every tournament is to be playing our best in that last match. When we play as a team and take care of our job, we can compete with strong programs that are perceived to have better players."

Kent State (1-2) redeemed Friday night's loss in the season opener with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-17) victory over Robert Morris (0-3). The Flashes were dominant in the performance, holding the Colonials to only 49 points, which is the fewest by an opponent since Sept. 10, 2010 (Morgan State).

Sophomore opposite Kelly Hutchison and junior middle blocker Liz Reikow led the way with nine kills apiece. Freshman outside hitter Bianca Cifaldi added seven kills along with two service aces and two solo blocks for a match-best 11 points. Senior setter Aleksandra Nowak recorded 23 assists in the victory, while libero Hannah Herc anchored the defense with 15 digs.

After back-and-forth action in the opening set, the Flashes used six straight points to take an 11-7 and begin to create separation. The Flashes were crisp offensively, totaling 12 kills to just a single attack error and a .500 hitting percentage. Reikow and sophomore middle blocker Bridget Wilhelm led a balanced attack with three kills each in the set.

"Ola did a good job of getting our hitters in position to hit around and over their blocks," added Gromala. "That pretty much established our offense right there."

Kent State never looked back, leading for the duration of the final two matches. The Flashes jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the second set and claimed the first five points in the final set. Robert Morris cut it to 17-16 in the third, but Kent State responded with seven straight points to pull away.

"Our defense kind of created our offense," Gromala said. "I think we stressed them out with our serving. We got them out of their rhythm offensively and they started making a lot of errors. When they did bring the ball back over the net, we executed pretty well in transition offense."

Kent State dropped a 3-1 (11-25, 22-25, 25-22, 22-25) decision to host Indiana (3-0) in the finale. After a rough opening set, the Flashes continued to fight and captured the third set to hand the Hoosiers their first setback of the season after winning their first eight.

Indiana's hitters were nearly unstoppable in the first set, hitting .615 and totaling 18 kills. While the Hoosiers never trailed in the first two sets, the final two featured 14 ties and nine lead changes. Facing a 20-15 deficit, the Flashes rallied to score 10 of the next 12 points and capture the set.

"We weren't ready for the physicality they brought to the table in the first set" Gromala said. "But once we got accustomed to it, we found some holes in their defense and started to get into a rhythm. We shook them up, which made them start making some errors. Then is it was just battle back-and-forth."

Kent State raced to a 12-6 lead to begin the fourth set, but was unable to hold off the Hoosiers, who regained the lead at 17-16. The Flashes went back ahead at 21-19 and 22-21, only to see the hosts score four consecutive points and bring the match to a close.

Cifaldi paced the offense with 12 kills, while Nowak recorded 30 assists. Defensively, the Flashes totaled a season-high 12 blocks. Wilhelm led the way with a career-high eight blocks.

"I think Bianca did a great job of just playing her game and not getting caught up with her first weekend as a freshman playing against a Big Ten team," Gromala commented. "I thought Bridget stepped up her game this evening. She had a good night offensively and had also some great blocks for us."

Following the match, Reikow was announced to the all-tournament team. She hit .304 and finished the weekend with 22 kills and eight blocks.

"Liz had a solid weekend overall," Gromala said of his 6-6 middle blocker. "Tonight was a little more of a challenge because of Indiana's size. But the way that she's played made them worry about her, which opened up opportunities for our offense. Most importantly, her presence made them change some things that they wanted to do."

Kent State returns to action at Monday at 7 p.m. in an exhibition against Polish professional club team Dabrowa Górnicza at the M.A.C. Center. Senior setter Aleksandra Nowak is a native of Poland.