Kent State University
11-9 (4-3MAC)
Ball State University
8-13 (4-3MAC)
Dominant Fifth Set Gives Flashes First Road Conference Victory
10/14/2016 10:22:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Kent State volleyball team refused to let its first road win of the Mid-American Conference season get away and dominated host Ball State for a 3-2 (25-18, 25-23, 16-25, 23-25, 15-6) victory Friday evening at Worthen Arena.
The Golden Flashes (11-9, 4-3 MAC) took a 2-0 lead into the locker room at the intermission but saw momentum shift to the Cardinals as they sent the match to a decisive fifth set. After falling behind 3-1 early, Kent State pulled away with a 9-1 run en route to a 15-6 victory.
"We're really proud of the girls and how they battled to earn a win in a tough environment. When you don't have much of a history of winning in an arena, it's hard to win there. In the fifth set, we controlled the ball really well. Brittney did a great job of deciding when to force Drew, and she did a good job of being available and putting some pace on the ball. With Drew scoring points, that opened some things up and made it harder for them to defend us."
Kent State recorded a season-high 15 blocks and held Ball State to a .000 clip or lower in two sets. Freshman Myla King and senior Drew Norberg led the way with six blocks each and junior Brittney Jakscht added five stuffs.
Junior Challen Geraghty was spectacular with a season-high 34 digs and 34 service receptions without an error. Junior Kelsey Bittinger also had a season-high in digs with 20, while freshman Claire Tulisiak (12 digs) and sophomore Sam Jones (10 digs) gave the Flashes four players in double-figures.
Junior Heather Younkin led the offense with 16 kills, which matches her career-high. Norberg had 13 kills and Bittinger posted 11 kills for her seventh double-double of the season. Jakscht added 5 kills and a season-best 48 assists.
An 8-2 run gave Kent State a 13-7 lead in the opening set. The Cardinals got within two points at 16-14, but Younkin ended long rally with a kill and King added a block solo and kill to extend the lead back to five. The Flashes held their host without a kill the rest of the way and Norberg put it away, 25-18, with a kill.
Bittinger got a kill to give the Flashes their first lead of the second set, 7-6. However, the Cardinals answered with a 7-1 run to lead by five. Kent State slowly crept back into the set and took the lead at 20-19. Ball State responded with a 4-2 run to go ahead, 23-22. However, Norberg stepped up with a kill to even it and Jakscht scored on a setter dump to give the Flashes set point. After a timeout, Norberg delivered the set-clincher once again a 25-23 victory.
Ball State scored six straight as part of a 12-6 run to open the third. After Kent State got within 17-13, the Cardinals took command with five straight points and won the set, 25-16.
The Flashes shook off the loss and opened a 9-6 lead to start set four. A 9-3 run by the Cardinals flipped the scoreboard and put the hosts ahead by three. Trailing 23-20, Kent State continued to fight and evened the score, 23-23. However, Ball State posted a kill and a block after calling timeout to send the match to a fifth set.
Kent State looks for its third consecutive victory Saturday night at Toledo. The match is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast locally on BCSN and online on ESPN3.
