Kent State University
3-1
University of Evansville
0-5
High-Powered Offense Leads Kent State to Pair of Victories to Open Hampton Inn Golden Flashes Classic
9/5/2014 8:33:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
KENT, Ohio – Excellent performances from its hitters propelled Kent State to victory in both of its matches in front of the home crowd at the M.A.C. Center to open the Hampton Inn Golden Flashes Classic on Friday. The Golden Flashes topped Evansville, 3-1 (25-21, 25-16, 26-28, 25-21), in the afternoon match and came back for a 3-0 sweep of Morehead State (25-20, 25-19, 25-18) in the nightcap.
"We are doing a really good job of taking care of all the little things," said head coach Don Gromala. "Offensively, we did some really good things and our percentage was really high."
Senior Tinuke Aderemi-Ibitola was nearly unstoppable against Evansville on the way to the best match of her career in a Kent State uniform. Aderemi-Ibitola posted 21 kills and just one error on 32 swings for outstanding .625 attack percentage.
"It was really good to see Tinuke had one of her best career matches and it was nice see her play at such a high level," Gromala said of his outside hitter. "She was making really good decisions of where she was hitting the ball and being aggressive."
The Purple Aces did not have answer for any of the Kent State hitters. The Flashes finished with a .328 attack percentage, the highest in a match since September 8, 2012. Making her first start of the season, senior Jenny Buczek (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) showed great decision-making in her setting on the way to a career-best 53 assists. Buczek also did a good job of attacking at opportune times and finished with four kills on 10 attempts.
Kent State received strong play up front and totaled 11.5 blocks for the fourth straight match in double-figures. Wilhelm led the way with five blocks and senior Liz Reikow added four blocks. Sophomore Drew Norberg (South Lake Tahoe, Calif./Sout Tahoe [Nev.]) provided a spark off the bench with three blocks in brief stints over the final two sets. Evansville held a 44-36 edge in digs. Freshman Challen Geraghty (Louisville, Ky./Holy Cross) led the Flashes with 11, while senior Kaylee Koller and junior Sarah Mills contributed seven apiece.
A more balanced attack was utilized against Morehead State, but the Flashes still managed to hit just below the .300 clip and finished with a .298 attack percentage. Aderemi-Ibitola had a team-high nine kills and Bittinger added eight. Reikow and Wilhelm were effective up the middle, combining for 11 kills while hitting .455 in the match. Buczek recorded 30 assists and a team-high three aces.
Although the final scores of each set may not show it, Kent State was in control of the match for its entirety. The Flashes trailed just once in the first two sets. A slow start to the third saw Morehead State lead by as many as four points at 5-1 and 8-4, but the Flashes took their first lead at 14-13 and never looked back.
Kent State (4-1) will look to capture the Golden Flashes Classic title for the second consecutive year when they play New Hampshire at 6 p.m. at the M.A.C. Center.
