Kent State University
-7, 1-29 MAC
University of Akron
7-11, 1-2MAC
Volleyball Tops Akron in Four Sets for First Conference Win
10/3/2014 9:59:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
KENT, Ohio – Kent State (9-7, 1-2 MAC) found a way to come through with points at the critical moments in a 3-1 (25-18, 19-25, 25-23, 25-22) victory over rival Akron in front of an enthusiastic crowd Friday night at the M.A.C. Center. The Golden Flashes remained unbeaten (5-0) at home with the victory, their first for the in Mid-American Conference play.
"It's great to get that first win against Akron, but more importantly, to do it in front of a crowd like we had tonight," said head coach Don Gromala. "The crowd really helped us come back and win that fourth set. Overall, we played steady throughout the match. We started off really hot and then our serving and defense picked up a little bit, which was the difference in the end."
The combination of senior outside hitter Lauren Engleman and junior middle blocker Bridget Wilhelm provided the Flashes with just enough offense to get the victory. Engleman led the attack at the pin with a match-high 15 kills to go with an efficient .300 attack percentage. Wilhelm complemented her up the middle, posting 14 kills on 20 swings without any errors for an outstanding .700 attack percentage.
"Our game plan going in was to set our middles as much as possible," Gromala said. "We knew we had a good matchup there with how we run our middle offense. Bridget did a great job of making herself available and moved her shots around well."
Kent State dominated much of the opening set, which it led from the outset. The Flashes found a rhythm on offense and hit .346 while limiting errors. Akron, on the other hand, hit just .062 with nine attack errors and three service errors. Kent State owned its largest lead at 20-12 and Akron was unable to get within six points the rest of the way. A service error by the Zips' Karley Kusan ended the set, 25-18 in favor of the Flashes.
"They were making a lot of mistakes and we really took advantage of some easy opportunities to score points when we were getting our them, which was great to see," Gromala said.
The second set was similar to the opening set, but this time it went in Akron's favor. The Zips led throughout after scoring the first four points and finished the set with a .324 hitting percentage. While the Flashes recorded 16 kills in the set, they also had eight errors and hit just .222. The Zips led by eight on multiple occasions and a block by Anna Wenger and Mary Delich brought the set to a close, 25-19.
Kent State trailed early in the third set before a five-point rally put it ahead for good, 13-9. Akron threatened to tie the score after coming within 20-19, but senior middle blocker Liz Reikow responded with a kill out of a timeout. A kill by Engleman a few plays later extended the lead to 24-21 and put the Flashes in position to serve for set point. Akron's Julia Smagacz had other intentions and forced Kent State to call timeout after recording consecutive kills. Just as she did all night long, Wilhelm came through with a big play for Kent State and ended the set with a kill.
The fourth set began similarly to the second with Akron jumping out to a 5-1 lead. The Flashes got within a point at 9-8, but the Zips came right back and extended the lead to as large as six at 18-12. Engleman delivered back-to-back kills as part of a 4-0 run that sparked the comeback effort. An ace by senior defensive specialist/libero Kaylee Koller tied the set at 20-20, but Smagacz put Akron right back in the lead with a kill on the next point.
Junior opposite Kelly Hutchison then stepped up with two crucial points to swing momentum in favor of the Flashes. Hutchison tied it with a kill. Following a ballhandling error by the Zips, Hutchison then combined with Reikow on a block to give Kent State a 23-21 lead. While a service error brought the Zips to within a point, an unsuccessful attack by setter Karley Kusan sailed directly into the net to give the Flashes set point. Kent State then put Akron away on the next point when Reikow and senior outside hitter Tinuke Aderemi-Ibitola combined for a block.
Freshman defensive specialist/libero Challen Geraghty tallied a match-high 14 digs to help Kent State out-dig Akron, 55-47. Freshman outside hitter Kelsey Bittinger and Koller joined Geraghty in double-digits with 12 and 11 digs, repectively.
Freshman Brittney Jakscht handed out a team-high 23 assists. Senior Jenny Buczek recorded 20 assists after entering in the third set.
"To win going into tomorrow night is nice because Buffalo is playing good volleyball and we're going to have to play better to give us a chance to get another win. The atmosphere was fantastic tonight and we play an exciting brand of volleyball, so hopefully people will decide to come back out tomorrow night."
Kent State will look to even its conference record tomorrow night as it returns to the M.A.C. Center for a 7 p.m. contest against Buffalo.
