Kent State University
12-8, 6-2MAC
Ball State University
9-13, 3-5MAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball State | 25 | 13 | 25 | 25 | 9 | 2 |
| Kent State | 13 | 25 | 22 | 27 | 15 | 3 |
Golden Flashes Defeat Cardinals in Thrilling Comeback Victory
10/17/2015 11:22:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
KENT, Ohio – Senior Sarah Mills delivered back-to-back aces to put away Ball State in Kent State's thrilling 3-2 (13-25, 25-13, 22-25, 27-25, 15-9) comeback victory Saturday night at the M.A.C. Center. The Golden Flashes (12-8, 6-2 MAC) evened their record to 2-2 in five-setters this season and extended their winning streak to five matches.
On the team's annual 'Dig for the Cure' night to support breast cancer awareness, Kent State displayed the same type of fight as survivors of the deadly illness in getting the win. The Flashes put a forgettable opening set behind them to dominate the second set and tie the match at the intermission. After losing the third set, the Flashes found a way to come out on top in each of the final two sets.
"This was a huge win for us", said head coach Don Gromala. "It was great to have some of our alumni back for this match, and we wanted to win for them. We knew it was going to be a big match. Regardless of Ball State's record, they have a really strong team. We came out slow. They did some things defensively and with their serving that stressed us out. But we made some adjustments and showed a ton of fight to not get too down and grind out a win."
Both teams utilized a deep bench with 25 players seeing the court in the match. Kent State had four players register at double-figure kills and six players with at least eight digs.
Sophomore Kelsey Bittinger and senior Bridget Wilhelm led the Flashes with 14 kills apiece. Junior Drew Norberg posted a career-high 12 kills, while senior Kelly Hutchison added 11 kills. Junior Katarina Kojic also set a career-high with six kills and handed out a match-high 51 assists.
Sophomore Challen Geraghty led all players with 23 digs. Hutchison (12 digs) and freshman Sam Jones (11 digs) joined Geraghty in double-figures. Kojic (9 digs), Bittinger (8 digs) and Mills (8 digs) also made key contributions to the defense. Wilhelm continued her strong play at the net with eight blocks.
Kent State plays its next five matches on the road beginning next week with visits to Northern Illinois and Western Michigan.
