Kent State University
Eastern Kentucky University
Kent State Looks to Find Consistency at Thunder Invitational
9/12/2013 2:54:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
2013 Thunder Invitational
The Kent State volleyball team will continue its stretch of early season road trips with a trip to Huntington, W. Va. for the Thunder Invitational this weekend. The Golden Flashes (1-5) will play Eastern Kentucky on Friday and return to action Saturday against Southern Illinois and host Marshall.
Entering the third weekend of the 2013 campaign, second-year head coach Don Gromala would like to see more consistency from his squad as it continues to prepare for conference play.
"We need to find a way to get off to stronger starts [in matches]. Our offense and defense need to fire on all cylinders. So far it's been one or the other, and we need both."
Kent State (1-5) made its first West Coast trip since 1997 this past weekend, but lost its three matches at the Fullerton Classic. However, the Golden Flashes showed improvement from one match to the next for the second straight weekend. After falling to Cal State Fullerton in three sets, the Flashes forced a fourth set against Gardner-Webb and lost a heartbreaking five-setter to William & Mary in the finale.
Flash Facts
- In spite of not being able to hold on against William & Mary, Gromala was pleased with the balanced performance from his squad on both offense and defense. The Golden Flashes had four players with double-digit kills for the first time since Sept. 13, 2011. Kelly Hutchison led the way with 15 kills. Bianca Cifaldi added 13 and both Bridget Wilhelm and Lauren Engleman matched career-bests with 10.
- Kent State tallied 104 digs in the match, eclipsing the century mark for the first time since Oct. 2, 2004. Five players, led by Hutchison (27), Kaylee Koller (24), Sarah Mills (14), posted new career marks against the Tribe. Seniors Hannah Herc and Aleksandra Nowak also notched double-figure digs with 14 and 11, respectively.
- Cifaldi continued her strong debut season and was named to the all-tournament team after posting a team-best 35 kills (2.92/set) in addition to 15 digs (1.25/set) at the Fullerton Classic. She hit .353 and had a career-best 15 kills against Gardner-Webb. On the season, she leads the Flashes at 2.73 kills/set.
- Wilhelm has played well in the middle spot vacated by last year's lone senior, Kathy Krupa. The sophomore has totaled a team-best 21 blocks this season, including a 1.27 blocks/set average over the past four matches. She has also made an impact on the Kent State attack, hitting .375 and posting 20 kills in Saturday's two matches.
- Nowak enters the weekend tied with Katie Veatch for fourth on Kent State's career assists list. The senior from Damnica, Poland recorded 93 assists at the Fullerton Classic to bring her career total to 2,436.
Scouting This Week's Opponents
Eastern Kentucky (4-3)
- Kent State is 3-4 all-time against Eastern Kentucky. In the most recent matchup, the Colonels came away with a 3-1 victory at the Kent State Invitational in 2005.
- EKU enters on a three-match skid. After opening the season with four consecutive wins, the Colonels went winless this past weekend at the Arizona Invitational.
- Junior outside hitter Alexis Plagens earned all-tournament team honors after totaling 30 kills. Plagens is the team's second-leading attacker at 3.22 kills/set.
- Senior outside hitter Ashley Edmund paces EKU at 3.63 kills/set.
Southern Illinois (3-5)
- Kent State is 1-1 all-time against Southern Illinois. The Flashes defeated the Salukis, 3-0, in the most recent meeting in 2007.
- SIU went 1-2 at the Kansas State Invitational this past weekend, but bounced back with a 3-0 victory over Saint Louis at home on Tuesday. Three players recorded 10+ kills in the win.
- Senior outside hitter Jessica Whitehead leads the attack for the Salukis at 3.83 kills/set.
Marshall (2-7)
- Kent State is 7-7 all-time against Marshall. This is just the second time the schools have met since Marshall departed the Mid-American Conference following the 2004 season. The Golden Flashes fell to the Thundering Herd, 3-0, a year ago at the Kent State/Mizuno Open.
- Marshall dropped its home opener Tuesday against East Tennessee State, 3-2.
- Senior middle blocker Sacha Byous-McConnell hit .789 and posted 15 kills against Chicago State, the team's lone win at this past weekend's UIC Invitational.
- The Thundering Herd captured the team title at the Kent State/Mizuno Open with a 3-0 record. Setter Sammie Bane was named MVP of the tournament and libero Dorothy Rahal earned Defensive Player of the Tournament honors. Outside hitter Laura Der joined the duo as an all-tournament team selection.
Next Up
Kent State will make its regular season debut at the M.A.C. Center next weekend (Sept. 20-21) as it hosts Binghamton, Eastern Illinois and Illinois-Chicago for the Golden Flashes Classic.
For live updates, follow the Flashes on Twitter @KentStVball. Live stats will be available for all of the team's matches through http://www.herdzone.com.
