Kent State University
9-6, 2-0MAC
University of Akron
5-9, 0-2MAC
Kent State Beats Akron, 3-1, for Fifth Straight Victory
9/24/2016 10:16:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
KENT, Ohio – The Kent State volleyball team gave the Golden Flashes early bragging rights over rival Akron with a 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 25-16, 25-20) victory Saturday evening in the first matchup between the schools of the 2015-16 academic year.
The Golden Flashes (9-6) have now won five straight and start Mid-American Conference play 2-0 for the first time since 2008.
After splitting the first two sets, Kent State dominated the rest of the night. The Flashes hit .371 and had 29 kills over the final two sets compared to just 18 kills and a .013 hitting percentage for the Zips.
Junior Kelsey Bittinger totaled 17 kills and 14 digs for her second double-double in as many nights. Bittinger was the Flashes' most consistent attacker and posted five kills in each of the first three sets. She committed an attack error on the seventh point of the match, her only hitting mistake of the night, and finished with a .356 hitting percentage.
Junior Heather Younkin finished with 10 kills and senior Drew Norberg added 8 kills. For the second Saturday in a row, sophomore Lexi Mantas provided a big lift off the bench. Mantas played in the final two set and totaled seven kills while hitting at a .400 clip.
Senior Katarina Kojic had 42 assists on the night. Kojic added eight digs and a team-best two aces.
Junior Challen Geraghty matched her season-high with 29 digs, including 12 in the final set. Freshman Claire Tulisiak played her best match as a Golden Flash and tallied a career-high 15 digs as part of a defense that held the Zips to a .099 hitting percentage.
Six Flashes contributed to Kent State holding an 8-5 edge in blocks. Freshman Myla King led the way with four blocks. Younkin and Norberg each had three stuffs.
Kent State will hit the road next weekend to take on Miami on Friday and Bowling Green on Saturday.
