Golden Flashes Drop Pair at Fullerton Classic

Saturday, September 7

Fullerton, Calif.

1:00 p.m.

Kent State University

1-4

Gardner-Webb University

3-4

Gardner-Webb

Kent State

Photo by: David Dermer

Golden Flashes Drop Pair at Fullerton Classic

9/7/2013 10:49:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

FULLERTON, Calif. –The Kent State volleyball team was on the verge of leaving California with smiles on their faces but instead ended the second weekend of the 2013 campaign with a pair of defeats on Saturday. The Golden Flashes fell to Gardner-Webb, 3-1 (16-25, 14-25, 25-13, 20-25), and dropped a heartbreaker to William & Mary, 3-2 (20-25, 25-22, 25-19, 22-25, 12-15) at Fullerton Classic.

"We need to find a way to get off to stronger starts," said head coach Don Gromala. "As a whole, I thought we got better throughout the weekend. But we need to start better. We improved from match-to-match a week ago, but started from square one again this week. "

After relying on its defense in the few matches of the season, Kent State could not slow the Gardner-Webb attack in the first two sets of Saturday's first match. The Runnin' Bulldogs hit .478 on its way to a 2-0 lead, using 7-0 runs to key victories in both sets.

"Gardner-Webb runs a unique offense," added Gromala. "We allowed them to run their in-system stuff too much and were unable to keep up with the pace."

That changed in the third set, as it was Kent State's attack that heated up. The Flashes limited Gardner-Webb to just .042 hitting in the set, totaling 16 kills and hitting .519 in the process. Freshman outside hitter Bianca Cifaldi posted five of her match-high 15 kills in the set, and junior outside hitter/opposite Lauren Engleman added four kills as the Flashes extended the match to a fourth set.

"Midway through the match, our offense came alive," Gromala said. "Gardner-Webb is a smaller team but plays really good defense. We were able to use our size and physicality to start hitting the ball the way we should have been."

Kent State's attack continued its strong play in the next set, matching Gardner-Webb's 14 kills while hitting .379. The Flashes, however, struggled with its serve receive, which proved to be the difference. Gardner-Webb had six aces in the set, including five in a pivotal stretch that saw the Runnin' Bulldogs turn a 12-9 lead into a 20-10 advantage.

Sophomore middle blocker Bridget Wilhelm continued her strong play at the net with a team-best five total blocks. Senior setter Aleksandra Nowak added four blocks to go with 34 assists. Senior defensive specialist/libero Hannah Herc tallied a season-high 18 digs.

After dropping the opening set in the nightcap, Kent State appeared to be on its way to victory after taking the next two sets and holding a 20-17 lead in the fourth. Following a timeout, William & Mary rallied to take a 22-21 lead. The Flashes tied the scored on a kill by Nowak, but the Tribe took the next three points to force a decisive fifth set.

Kent State was unable to regain the momentum and never led in the final set. The Flashes fell behind 8-5 as the teams switched sides, but rallied to even the score with three consecutive points. They were unable to get over the hump, however, dropping four of the next five points as William & Mary pulled away for the 15-12 victory.

The Golden Flashes had a balanced attack in the loss, as four players totaled double-digit kills. Sophomore opposite Kelly Hutchison led the way with 15 kills and added a career-high 27 digs for the team's first double-double of the season. Cifaldi added 13 kills and Wilhelm and Engleman had 10 to match their career marks. Nowak had a season-high 44 assists.

Defensively, Kent State limited the Tribe to a .159 hitting percentage and recorded 104 digs. The performance marked the first time the Flashes have tallied 100 digs in a match since October 2, 2004 (117 vs. Northern Illinois).

"One of our goals as a program is to out-dig our opponent, so I was happy with that."

Junior Kaylee Koller and sophomore Sarah Mills joined Hutchison with career performances from the back row. Koller, who made her season debut at libero, totaled 24 digs, nearly tripling her previous career mark. Mills had 14 digs and added two aces. Herc and Nowak were also in double-digits with 14 and 11, respectively.

Following Saturday's final match, Cifaldi was named to the all-tournament team. She had 35 kills, 15 digs, and three blocks for the weekend.

Kent State will travel to Huntington, W. Va. next weekend for three matches at the Thunder Invitational.