Kent State University
7-6, 1-0
University of Akron
6-6, 0-1
Kent State Strikes First in PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge as Volleyball Takes Five-Set Thriller
9/27/2013 10:08:00โฏPM | Women's Volleyball
AKRON, Ohio โ The Kent State volleyball team used a dominant hitting performance in the decisive fifth set to defeat Akron, 3-2 (25-20, 25-12, 18-25, 21-25, 15-9), to open Mid-America Conference play Friday night at James A. Rhodes Arena. With the victory, Kent State takes an early half-point lead over its rival in the PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge.
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"This is a huge win for us," head coach Don Gromala said. "We knew they were going to fight back. It's a rivalry and there are no easy wins in the MAC, especially on the road."
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In a match of runs, it was the Golden Flashes who made the final run to come out on top. Junior Tinuke Aderemi-Ibitola put the exclamation mark on her season debut with a thunderous kill. Aderemi-Ibitola logged kills on all four of her attacks in the set and added a solo block.
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"Tinuke came in and she really jumped on the opportunity, which is great to see from an upperclassman."
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Kent State (7-6, 1-0) found a way to get their hitters back in rhythm in the fifth set, as the Flashes recorded 11 kills and a .529 attack percentage. Sophomore Bridget Wilhelm also had four kills in the set and sophomore Kelly Hutchison added three.
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"Once our middles started getting into gear, it opened some things up for us again," Gromala added. "In the fifth set, we put our two strongest hitters for the match up front and they did a great job."
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After a back-and-forth start that featured nine ties and four lead changes, the teams were deadlocked at 15-all in the opening set. The Golden Flashes took control from there, winning five of the next six points on the way to a 25-20 first set victory. That momentum carried into the next set, as the Flashes cruised to a 25-12 victory to move into position for a sweep.
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Kent State hit .288 in the first two sets and held Akron to a .095 attack percentage. The roles would reverse following the intermission, as Akron hit .272 in sets 3-4 and the Flashes managed to hit just .074.
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"Our pins were struggling to put balls away in those sets," Gromala said. "Akron made some pretty good adjustments defensively against our pins and made it hard on them."
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Playing in front of the home crowd, the Zips appeared to have the momentum heading into the decisive set. The Flashes, however, regrouped to deny the comeback bid.
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Kent State won its second straight MAC opener and has won four consecutive matches for the first time since 2009. The Flashes' attack got contributions from several players, as four posted double-digit kills. Aderemi-Ibitola led the way with 15, junior Liz Reikow had 13, and Wilhelm and freshman Bianca Cifaldi
added 10 apiece. Senior Aleksandra Nowak recorded a season-high 50 assists.
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The Flashes out-dug their eighth straight opponent, holding a 68-55 advantage over the Zips. Senior libero Hannah Herc led the defense with 18 digs, while junior Kaylee Koller and sophomore Sarah Mills each tallied 10.
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"We didn't make adjustments defensively within the game tonight, and that's where we were much better this preseason. So we need to get better with that tomorrow because Buffalo's a tough team."
