Kent State University
14-13, 7-7MAC
Miami University (OH)
21-5, 13-1MAC
Resilient Flashes Ground RedHawks, Snap Nation’s Longest Win Streak On Senior Night
11/5/2016 10:46:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
KENT, Ohio – The Kent State volleyball team made a statement to the rest of the Mid-American Conference with in a thrilling 3-2 (26-24, 21-25, 19-25, 26-24, 15-10) come-from-behind win over Miami on Senior Night Saturday at the M.A.C. Center.
It was a storybook night for the Golden Flashes (14-13, 7-7 MAC), which entered the match having lost three of the last four matches as the course of the season has taken its toll and left the team without its full roster available. Meanwhile, the RedHawks (21-5, 13-1 MAC) owned the nation's longest win streak at a school-record 20 matches. During the conference season, Miami had dropped only two sets and had won its past 16 sets. Kent State failed to score more than 16 points in any set during the first matchup between the teams in Oxford, Ohio back on September 30.
After stunning Miami with a 26-24 opening set victory in which it never trailed, Kent State found itself facing match point after its visitor took a 24-23 lead in the fourth set with a 9-2 run. As they have done all season, the Flashes found a way to come out on top in a close set and scored the next three points to head to a fifth set for the sixth time in the last eight contests. The momentum carried into the final set with a 9-5 run sealing the victory.
Both Kent State seniors in uniform were instrumental in the victory. Setter Katarina Kojic had a season-best 65 assists and added 9 digs, narrowly missing her second double-double in as many nights. Defensive specialist Maddie Moxley posted a career-high 16 digs, which topped her previous mark of 14 that she set Friday night vs. Bowling Green. Middle blocker Drew Norberg, who missed her fourth straight match, helped keep her teammates focused on the bench throughout the night.
"This is such a great win, and I am so proud of our team for how hard they fought tonight to get a victory," said head coach Don Gromala. "Our players really wanted to win for our seniors and several of them stepped up to make that happen. Kelsey, Lexi and Heather really did a great job of scoring when they had opportunities. The seniors we had available tonight gave us everything they had. Koja did a great job of setting to the right spot and helping make it easier on our attackers and Maddie did a really good job of getting some key digs. They both stepped up the past two nights and you can tell they want to continue playing past the next few weekends."
The seniors received plenty of help from their teammates. Junior Kelsey Bittinger turned in one of the best performances of her career with 23 kills and 22 digs, which is her third 20-20 match as a Flash. Bittinger had just 2 attack errors on 57 attempts for a season-best .375 hitting percentage. Sophomore Lexi Mantas posted a career-high 22 kills and hit at a .270 clip. Mantas has set a new career-high three times over the last three weekends and has been in double-digits in six straight matches. Junior Heather Younkin added 16 kills, which was two more than any Miami player.
Kent State's defense totaled a season-high 114 digs and held Miami to just a .193 hitting percentage, 65 points below its season mark entering the match. Junior Challen Geraghty was all over the floor and led the effort with 33 digs. Freshman Claire Tulisiak tallied 15 digs and freshman Myla King led the Flashes with 4 total blocks.
The victory also clinched a spot in the upcoming MAC Volleyball Championship, which will be held in DeKalb, Illinois from November 17-20. Entering the final weekend of the conference season, the Flashes could be seeded as high as fourth and as low as seventh.
Kent State hosts Ohio on Thursday, November 10 for the home finale and concludes the regular season at Eastern Michigan on Saturday, November 12.
