Kent State University
6-6
Morehead State University
4-8
Volleyball Sweeps Competition Friday at Comfort Inn-vitational
9/17/2016 12:33:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
MOREHEAD, Ky. – Kent State earned a 3-0 sweep in both of its matches on Friday at the Comfort Inn-vitational. The Golden Flashes bested Montana (25-21, 25-23, 25-22) and Morehead State (25-20, 25-18, 25-21).
The pair of victories gets Kent State (6-6) back to .500 on the season after dropping five of six coming into the day. After struggling to finish close sets last weekend, which included two five-set losses, the Flashes won five sets that were decided by five points or fewer.
Kent State outhit its opponents over the two matches, .231-.082, while posting 25 more kills (82-57). Senior Katarina Kojic finished the day with 72 assists (12.00 per set) and spread the ball to several attackers, as four Flashes averaged at least 2.50 kills per set. Junior Kelsey Bittinger led the way with 23 kills. Senior Drew Norberg had 18 kills and just four errors on 35 attempts for a .400 hitting percentage. Junior Heather Younkin and redshirt freshman Darby Connors added 16 kills and 15 kills, respectively.
Defensively, junior Challen Geraghty led Kent State with 32 digs (5.33 per set), while sophomore Sam Jones dug 19 balls. Freshman Myla King assisted on 9 of the Flashes' 12 blocks on the day.
Match 1: Kent State 3, Montana 0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-22)
Kent State recorded a season-best .299 hitting percentage and 13 more kills than Montana to open the day with a three-set victory that brought its three-match skid to an end.
Despite hitting .346 and limiting the Grizzlies to just eight kills in the opening set, the Golden Flashes were unable to get separation until after breaking a 16-16 tie. The Flashes gifted six points on service errors and setting miscues to keep it close on the scoreboard while outplaying their opposition. A kill by Drew Norberg put Kent State ahead, 17-16, and back-to-back aces by Sam Jones extended it to a three-point lead. After the Grizzlies cut it to one point, Kelsey Bittinger kept the Flashes ahead with a kill. Myla King then assisted on blocks on consecutive points, first with Katarina Kojic and then Bittinger, to make it 22-18. King added her first kill of the day a few points later to give the set to Kent State, 25-21.
Kent State countered a 5-1 run by Montana with an 8-1 run to lead 16-11 in the second set. The Grizzlies fought back to tie it twice, including at 22-22. A kill by King and a Montana attack error have the Flashes set point. Following a kill by the Grizzlies, Norberg finished it off with a kill of her own.
The Flashes led by as much as seven points in the third set before Montana got within 23-22. King and Bittinger responded with back-to-back kills to seal the victory for the Flashes.
Bittinger led all players with 16 kills. Heather Younkin added nine kills and a .429 hitting percentage at the opposite pin. Kojic had 38 assists.
King assisted on all five Kent State blocks in the match. Challen Geraghty had a team-best 15 digs, followed by eight apiece from Kojic and Sam Jones. Geraghty and Jones both had three service aces.
Match 2: Kent State 3, Morehead State 0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-21)
A dominant defensive performance led the way as Kent State secured its fourth three-set victory of the season. For the second time this season, the Golden Flashes forced their opponent into as many attack errors (26) as kills allowed (26).
The play of the defense was key in the final two sets, as the Flashes combined for a .122 hitting percentage after hitting at a .281 clip in the first set.
Kent State never trailed in the first set after going ahead 3-2, but had to fight off a late rally that saw Morehead State get within 20-19. The Eagles then committed errors on three straight plays. After the Flashes gave away a point on a service error, Heather Younkin and Drew Norberg came through with kills to end the set.
The Flashes used an 8-2 run to close out the second set with and go ahead, 20. A ball handling error by the Eagles got the run started, and Claire Tulisiak finished it off with an ace.
Tied at 18-18, Kent State finally broke away to earn a 25-21 victory in the third set and bring the match to an end.
Norberg led the way with 10 kills, while Darby Connors added 8 kills. Katarina Kojic had 34 assists.
Challen Geraghty had a match-high 17 digs. Sam Jones posted a season-high 11 digs and Kelsey Bittinger added 10 digs for the Flashes.
