Kent State University
12-12, 5-6MAC
University of Akron
7-16, 2-9MAC
Volleyball Drops Hard-Fought Rivalry Match
10/28/2016 10:58:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
AKRON, Ohio – Junior Kelsey Bittinger posted her 1,000th career kill in the third set of Kent State's 3-2 loss (27-25, 21-25, 33-31, 21-25, 8-15) at rival Akron on Friday. The Strongsville, Ohio native led the Golden Flashes with 19 kills on the night and added 15 digs for her 10th double-double of the season.
Kent State (12-12, 5-6 MAC) has gone five sets in its last five matches and owns a 2-3 record over that span. The setback snapped a seven-match winning streak against Akron and prevents the Flashes' senior class from finishing their careers undefeated against the rival Zips.
The Flashes' block was terrific for the Flashes all night and finished with a season-best 17 total blocks. Freshman Myla King posted a career-best 10 blocks and added five kills for a career-best 10.5 points. Juniors Amber Gerdeman (6 blocks) and Heather Younkin (5 blocks) and freshman Annie Ennesser (4 blocks) also posted the most stuffs of their collegiate careers. Junior Challen Geraghty led the floor defense with 20 digs.
Sophomore Lexi Mantas continued her strong play with 15 kills. Mantas posted double-digit kills in three straight matches after doing so just twice in the first season-and-a-half of her career. Senior Katarina Kojic led the Flashes with 30 assists and junior Brittney Jakscht had 24 assists.
Kent State trailed 7-3 to start the night. The Flashes responded by scoring three straight points, and the set was tight the rest of the way. Kent State took its first lead at 16-15 and a kill by Ennesser followed by a block solo by King a few points later gave the Flashes their largest lead, 18-16. After Akron fought off two set points, Bittinger put Kent State ahead for good with a kill. A poor pass off a tough serve by Jakscht then caused the Zips setter to double and give the Flashes the set, 27-25.
The Flashes scored the first two points of the second set, but Akron came back with a 13-7 run to lead by three. The Zips used a 4-0 run later in the set to pull away. Down 24-18, Kent State continued fighting and got within 24-21 before the hosts took the set, 25-21.
Kent State swung momentum back in its favor with a hard-fought, emotional 33-31 victory in set three. Trailing 31-30, the Flashes fought off their second set point and struck for three straight points to take a 2-1 lead. Gerdeman brought the Flashes even with a kill and Bittinger added a kill for a 32-31 lead. The duo then teamed for a block to end the set.
The Flashes used an 8-3 run to go ahead, 19-17, in the fourth set. Akron came right back to score four in a row and lead 21-19. After a kill by Gerdeman got Kent State within a point, the Zips rallied off three straight and closed in out on a service error, 25-21.
Gerdeman gave Kent State a 1-0 lead with a kill to start the fifth set, but Akron followed with an 11-3 run that was too much to overcome. The Zips had 10 kills and a .304 hitting percentage in the decisive set compared to only 5 kills and a .056 hitting percentage for the Flashes.
Kent State will try to even its Mid-American Conference record Saturday night at Buffalo. The match is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN3.
