Kent State University
8-6, 1-0MAC
University at Buffalo
1-13, 0-1MAC
Flashes Earn 3-0 Sweep of Bulls in MAC Opener
9/23/2016 10:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
KENT, Ohio – Kent State extended its winning streak to four matches Friday night with a 3-0 (27-25, 25-15, 25-20) victory over Buffalo in the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams. The Golden Flashes also swept the Bulls in their last visit to the M.A.C. Center in last season's finale, which secured a share of the program's first MAC East Division championship.
The Flashes (8-6, 1-0 MAC) were their own worst enemy throughout the match, as they dominated nearly every statistical category. However, unforced errors kept the set scores close and the match featured 30 ties and 16 lead changes. Kent State nearly doubled Buffalo in kills with a 57-29 advantage and also led .245-.179 in hitting percentage, 62-55 in digs and 8-3 in service aces. The Bulls managed to out-block the Flashes, 11-3.
Junior Heather Younkin led Kent State with a career-high 16 kills and had just one error on 29 attempts for a .517 hitting percentage, which is also a career-best. Younkin added a two-high two blocks as part of a defense that held the Bulls to a .1179 hitting percentage.
Junior Kelsey Bittinger registered her fourth double-double of the season with 13 kills and 10 digs. Senior Drew Norberg had 10 kills and redshirt freshman Darby Connors added nine kills.
In addition to spreading out the Flashes' attack amongst different hitters en route to 45 assists, senior Katarina Kojic matched her career-high with 6 kills to go with 8 digs and 3 service aces.
Junior Challen Geraghty made big play after big play to keep the ball off the floor and give the Flashes a chance to score. Geraghty led all players with 24 digs, which included 12 in the first set.
Despite totaling 14 more kills and 22 more attempts in the first set, Kent State needed to fight off a set point opportunity for Buffalo before securing the victory, 27-25. The Flashes had 21 kills but also had 13 attack errors 4 serving errors in the set, which included 15 ties and 10 lead changes. Kent State's largest lead came at 10-7 and Buffalo led by as much as three points at 18-15. Down 25-24, Bittinger came through with kills on back-to-back points to give Kent State the lead, 26-25. An attack by Buffalo on the next point sailed over the back line to end the set.
The second set was all Flashes after a rough start that saw them down 3-0. Kent State took the lead for good, 8-7, on a kill by Norberg. A serving run by Kojic, which included back-to-back aces, turned a 12-9 lead into an 18-9 lead as the Flashes pulled away from their guests. The traded points until Bittinger gave Kent State set point at 24-15 on consecutive kills. After a Buffalo kill, Kojic faked out the Bulls defense and fund an open spot on the court for a kill for a 25-15 victory. The Flashes had their most efficient attacking set of the match with 17 kills and 4 errors on 35 attempts for a .371 hitting percentage.
A kill by Bittinger broke a 16-16 tie and gave Kent State the lead for good in the third set. The Bulls cut it to a single point, 19-18, but Younkin answered with a kill and then Geraghty served up an ace to go ahead 21-18 and force Buffalo to call timeout. Younkin, Bittinger and junior Brittney Jakscht added kills before sophomore Sam Jones finished off the victory with an ace.
Kent State will battle rival Akron on Saturday at 6 p.m. at the M.A.C. Center in this year's first Wagon Wheel Challenge matchup.
