Kent State University
West Virginia University
Golden Flashes Return to Action at Mountaineer Invitational
9/11/2014 3:23:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Coming off an unbeaten weekend at the M.A.C. Center, Kent State heads back on the road this weekend for three matches at the Mountaineer Invitational in Morgantown, W.Va.
At 5-1, the Golden Flashes are off to their best start since the arrival of third-year head coach Don Gromala. After dropping a four-set decision to Mercer in its opener, Kent State has won five consecutive matches. That streak includes victories over three schools (College of Charleston, Morehead State, New Hampshire) that played in the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
Kent State will be challenged right away in a noon matchup against host West Virginia on Friday. The Mountaineers are winners of six straight and have not dropped a set since being swept by No. 9 BYU to open the season. After a short break, the Flashes will then play Saint Francis (Pa.) at 4:30 on Friday. The weekend concludes with a 2 p.m. matchup against Montana on Saturday.
FOLLOW THE FLASHES
Fans can follow all of this weekend's action, as live stats will be available courtesy of WVUSports.com. There will also be a live video stream of Kent State's match against the host Mountaineers at noon Friday, which can be viewed here.
Also, be sure to follow the Flashes on Twitter and Instagram for updates throughout the team's trip.
LAST TIME OUT
For the second consecutive year, Kent State went 3-0 on its home court and came away with the team championship at the Hampton Inn Golden Flashes Classic. The Flashes dropped just two sets over the weekend with wins against Evansville, Morehead State and New Hampshire.
The Flashes found a great rhythm on offense and finished with a .295 attack percentage for the weekend. Senior outside hitter Tinuke Aderemi-Ibitola dominated on both sides of the net with 50 kills (4.55 per set) on .421 hitting and 12 blocks (1.09 per set). Aderemi-Ibitola posted 20 or more kills and just one attack error in two of Kent State's three matches. Freshman outside hitter Kelsey Bittinger continued an impressive start to her collegiate career with 34 kills (3.09 per set) and recorded her fourth double-double of the year with 12 kills and 13 digs against New Hampshire on Saturday. Junior middle blocker Bridget Wilhelm added 30 kills (2.73 per set) with a .351 attack percentage.
Senior Jenny Buczek had the best performances of her career after being inserted into the starting lineup at setter. Buczek tallied a career-high 53 assists on Friday against Evansville and finished the weekend averaging 11.45 assists per set.
Kent State's defense continued to frustrate its opposition throughout the weekend. The Flashes held opponents to a .168 hitting percentage and posted 2.95 blocks per set. Senior middle blocker Liz Reikow had a team-high 15 blocks (1.36 per set). Wilhelm added nine blocks and middle blockers Drew Norberg and Amber Gerdeman combined for five blocks in spot appearances. Freshman Challen Geraghty took over the libero position and led the Flashes in digs each match. Geraghty had a team-high 34 digs (3.09 per set) over the three matches and senior Kaylee Koller was second with 24 digs (2.18 per set).
At the conclusion of the tournament, Aderemi-Ibitola received Most Valuable Player honors and was joined by Wilhelm on the all-tournament team.
ADEREMI-IBITOLA HONORED BY MAC
Senior outside hitter Tinuke Aderemi-Ibitola was named Mid-American Conference East Division Offensive Player of the Week on Monday and received the MAC's nomination for Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week.
Additionally, Aderemi-Ibitola received MAC Female Scholar Athlete of Week accolades, as voted on the conference's faculty athletic representatives, on Wednesday.
MAC RANKINGS
Kent State ranks near the top of the Mid-American Conference in almost every statistical. Outstanding defensive play has the Flashes leading the MAC in both opponent attack percentage (.152) and blocks per set (2.93). The Flashes are 17th nationally in blocks per set. Offensively, Kent State ranks second in attack percentage (.236) and fourth in both kills per set (12.83) and assists per set (12.09).
Individually, Liz Reikow leads the conference with 1.30 blocks per set, which ranks 51st in the nation. Reikow also ranks 43rd nationally with 30 total blocks.
Jenny Buczek is tied second with 10.83 assists per set. Tinuke Aderemi-Ibitola ranks fourth with 3.77 kills per set and eighth with a .312 hitting percentage. Kelly Hutchison ranks fifth in hitting percentage (.333) and Kelsey Bittinger ranks sixth in kills per set (3.30). Challen Geraghty is ninth in the conference at 3.65 digs per set.
SCOUTING WEST VIRGINIA
West Virginia (6-1) has not lost a set since being swept by No. 9 BYU in its season-opener. Outside hitter Jordan Anderson took MVP honors in leading the Mountaineers to three victories at the Niagara Invitational this past weekend. She was joined on the all-tournament team by setter Lamprini Konstantinidou and opposite Nikki Attea.
Anderson is off to a monster start for WVU and ranks fifth nationally in both points (5.71) and kills (5.14) per set to go with a .329 attack percentage. She also adds 2.67 digs per set. Konstantinidou runs the offense and is averaging 12.20 assists per set on the season. The Mountaineers have won all of their sets comfortably, as opponents have scored 20 points just four times over the past six matches.
SCOUTING SAINT FRANCIS (PA.)
Saint Francis (2-5) dropped its home opener against Youngstown State on Tuesday. Outside hitter Emily Marcinowski leads the Red Flash offense with 3.22 kills per set with outside hitter Hannah Kutny right behind at 3.16 kills per set. Setter Alanna Blenkarn orchestrates the offense and averages 9.67 assists per set.
SCOUTING MONTANA
Montana (0-6) enters the weekend seeking its first victory of the season. Right-side hitter Michelle Robinson was named all-tournament for the second straight weekend after averaging 2.46 kills on .277 hitting this past weekend at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic. Among the Grizzlies' three losses at the tournament was a five-set defeat at the hands of Mid-American Conference member Ball State.
Claire McCown paces the offense with 2.45 kills per set and Robinson has contributed 2.35 kills per set. The Grizzlies have struggled on defense, allowing opposing teams to hit .273 and are averaging just 10.61 digs per set (313th in nation).
ALL-TIME VS. OPPONENTS
While Kent State is just 5-9 all-time against West Virginia, the Flashes were victorious in the most recent matchup, a 3-0 sweep in 2008. The Flashes also defeated the Mountaineers the last time the teams met in Morgantown, a 3-1 victory in 1998. Kent State is 2-0 all-time against Saint Francis with three-set sweeps in 2012 and 1990. Saturday will mark the first meeting all-time between the Flashes and Montana.
UP NEXT
Kent State will have a quick turnaround and host Youngstown State on Tuesday night at the M.A.C. Center. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
