Kent State University
Ohio University
Volleyball Hosts Bobcats, Chippewas to Conclude Homestand
10/29/2014 11:42:00โฏAM | Women's Volleyball
KENT, Ohio โย Kent State brings October to a close and welcomes the beginning of November with a pair of Mid-American Conference matches inside the friendly confines of the M.A.C. Center. The Golden Flashes play first-place Ohio on Thursday and Central Michigan on Saturday. First serve of both matches is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Kent State (12-11, 4-6 MAC) matched its win total from a season ago with a 3-1 victory over Western Michigan in its last outing, and now looks to move closer to securing a return trip to the MAC Tournament. ย The Flashes enter the final three weekends of the regular season in a three-way tie with Buffalo and Central Michigan for seventh, and one game back of sixth-place Eastern Michigan, in the conference standings. The top eight teams will advance to the 2014 MAC Volleyball Tournament in Athens, Ohio from November 21-24.
The match with Ohio will mark the beginning of the second time through the MAC East Division. The Flashes opened conference play with a 3-1 loss to the Bobcats down in Athens. Saturday's contest against Central Michigan will mark the final matchup of the season with a MAC West Division school. Kent State is currently 2-3 against teams from each division.
M.A.C. CENTER MAGIC
The support provided from the home crowd has helped Kent State play some of its best volleyball of the season at the M.A.C. Center. The Golden Flashes thrive off the energy from its fans, which has resulted in a 7-1 record at home. The Flashes have dropped just nine sets and failed to reach at least 20 points just twice. The average margin-of-victory in the 22 sets the Flashes have won at the M.A.C. Center is 5.36 points. Kent State is hitting .263 at home while holding opponents to just a .163 clip.
Success at home is not just limited to this year. The Flashes went 7-4 at the M.A.C. Center during the 2013 season, which included a memorable 3-1 win over No. 18 Ohio on October 10 for the program's first win against a nationally-ranked team.
LAST TIME OUT
Kent State saw its six-match home winning streak to start the season come to an end against Northern Illinois (16-8, 9-1) last Friday, but responded with a strong performance in a win over Western Michigan (15-10, 6-4) on Saturday. It was the Flashes' best offensive weekend in conference play, as they hit .265 and averaged 14.0 kills per set.
The Flashes did not allow their home winning streak to come to an end without putting up a fight. Trailing 2-0, Kent State came out on top in a back-and-forth third set, 31-29, which marked its longest set of the season. Senior Tinuke Aderemi-Ibitola was sensational with 12 kills in the set. Aderemi-Ibitola led all players with a career-high 24 kills, which ties the four-set match high in the MAC this season.
Led by freshman Kelsey Bittinger, the Flashes hit a season-best .338 against the Broncos. Bittinger tallied her seventh double-double of the season with 17 kills and 11 digs. Junior opposite Kelly Hutchison matched her season-high with 12 kills and hit .550 in the match.
FOLOW THE FLASHES
Fans that are unable to make it out to the M.A.C. Center can follow all of the action online with live stats and video available on KentStateSports.com. Fans can also listen to both matches on the Golden Flashes iHeart Radio channel.
Also, be sure to follow the Flashes on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as the Kent State Volleyball Blog. ย
SCOUTING KENT STATE
The Golden Flashes feature one of the MAC's top defenses. They are second in the conference and 69th in the country with 2.35 blocks per set. Additionally, the Flashes rank third in the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.182) and fourth in digs per set (15.19).
Middle blockers Liz Reikow and Bridget Wilhelm lead a strong blocking effort at the net. Reikow averages a MAC-leading 1.16 blocks per set, while Wilhelm adds 0.77 blocks per set. Five other Flashes have contributed at least 25 blocks this season.
Freshman defensive specialist/libero Challen Geraghty is in the midst of one of the best seasons by a Kent State freshman all-time. Geraghty averages 4.16 digs per set and her 370 digs are 86 away from the program's freshman record. She has raised her level of play since the beginning of conference play and ranks second in the MAC with 5.24 digs per set. Fellow freshman Kelsey Bittinger is second on the team with 2.70 digs per set, while junior Sarah Mills (2.21 digs per set) and senior Kaylee Koller (2.12 digs per set) have also been solid in the back row.
The offense is led by senior Tinuke Aderemi-Ibitola, who ranks seventh in the MAC with 3.19 kills per set. Aderemi-Ibitola has notched double-digit kills 13 times and averaged 4.62 kills per set last weekend. Outside hitter Kelsey Bittinger adds 2.39 kills per set and is coming off her best htting performance since the season-opener vs. Mercer. Bittinger had 17 kills and hit .325 against Western Michigan on Saturday. Senior Lauren Engleman has averaged 2.87 kills per set while playing in 45 sets this season.
Freshman setter Brittney Jakscht is handing out 8.72 assists per set, which ranks ninth in the conference. She has shared setting duties with senior Jenny Buczek, who averages 8.92 assists per set in 29 sets.
SCOUTING OHIO
Ohio (17-4, 10-0 MAC) has won 11 matches in a row and is the only remaining unbeaten team in MAC play. The Bobcats are coming off their most impressive weekend of conference play, when they defeated Western Michigan, 3-1, and then swept Northern Illinois in a showdown between the last two unbeatens in conference play.
The Bobcats rank in the top 50 nationally in several statistical categories, including aces per set (15th), opponent hitting percentage (21st), kills per set (36th) and digs per set (36th). Additionally, Ohio leads the MAC with 2.39 blocks per set.
A pair of All-Americans, senior OH Kelly Lamberti and junior S Abby Gilleland, lead Ohio's offensive attack. Lamberti averages 4.86 points per set and 4.10 kills per set, ranking 25th and 42th in the country, respectively, in each category. Gilleland is third in the MAC in hitting percentage (.352) and assists per set (10.31).
Junior L Meredith Ashy and junior MB Karin Bull are the leaders of the Bobcat defense. Ashy leads the MAC and ranks 25th nationally with 4.94 digs per set and Bulls ranks third in the MAC with 1.14 blocks per set.
SCOUTING CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Central Michigan (9-13, 4-6 MAC) split its matches last weekend, defeating Akron, 3-0, on Friday and losing to Buffalo, 3-1, on Saturday. While the Chippewas have struggled at times this season, they had found much success in the state of Ohio. CMU is 5-0 in the "Buckeye State" with three wins at the Cincinnati Invitational in addition to road wins over Akron and Toledo.
Blocking has been a strength of the Chippewas this season, as they rank third in the MAC with 2.23 blocks per set. Junior MB Angelique White leads the blocking effort with 1.16 blocks per set, which is just behind Reikow for the conference lead. White's 96 total blocks are more than double that of any other CMU player, but six of her teammates have totaled at least 25 blocks on the season.
Central Michigan is the only school with two players among the MAC's top 10 leaders in kills per set. Senior OH Kaitlyn McIntyre ranks sixth with 3.68 kills per set and freshman OH Jordan Bueter is tenth with 2.87 kills per set. White is the team's most efficient hitter with a .305 attack percentage while adding 2.31 kills per set. Freshman S Kylie Copple averages 9.59 assists per set, which ranks sixth in the MAC. Junior L Kristen Reenders anchors the back row with 4.71 digs per set to rank second in the MAC and 56th in the country.
ALL-TIME VS. OPPONENTS
Kent State owns a 24-48 record all-time against Ohio. Since defeating the 18th-ranked Bobcats on October 10 last season, the Flashes have lost three times to the Bobcats. Kent State is 16-30 all-time against Central Michigan, but swept the Chippewas in Mount Pleasant last season.ย
NEXT UP
Kent State will make its final road trip of the regular season when it visits Buffalo and rival Akron next weekend. The Flashes will then conclude the regular season at the M.A.C. Center against Miami and Bowling Green the following weekend.
