Kent State University
4-17 (2-8MAC)
Northern Illinois
6-19 (5-5MAC)
Scrappy Flashes Set MAC Record in Loss to Huskies
10/22/2017 1:26:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
DEKALB, Ill. – Host Northern Illinois seized momentum from coming out on top of an epic 43-41 first set to defeat Kent State, 3-0 (41-43, 22-25, 20-25) in a Mid-American Conference match Friday evening at Victor E. Court.
Only two NCAA Division I sets have gone past 43 points since the 25-point scoring format began in 2008. Manhattan defeated Rider, 45-43, on Oct. 23, 2009 and Houston Baptist defeated Northern Colorado, 45-43, on Sept. 3, 2016.
In total, the set had 29 ties and saw the lead change sides 10 times. Tied 30-30, the teams combined to side-out on 18 consecutive points, as the Golden Flashes (4-17, 2-8 MAC) fought off nine set point opportunities for the Huskies.
"Both teams ran out of subs, which didn't make for the cleanest volleyball, but the level of intensity towards the end of that first set was off the charts," said head coach Don Gromala. "Every point was so intense, similar to how it is in the NCAA Tournament. It was cool to watch and great for our players to experience. You are forced to play in spots you aren't accustomed when you get that deep in a set, so it was great to see players step up in the moment. Unfortunately, it didn't fall our way, but our team definitely built a lot of character."
Kent State fell behind 4-1 to start the night and fought back to take its first lead, 12-11, on a block by senior Amber Gerdeman and junior Lexi Mantas. A three-point surge put NIU back in front, 17-15. The Flashes regained the lead, 24-23, following kills by Gerdeman and senior Kelsey Bittinger for the first set point opportunity of the night. Kent State served for set point six more times, with the last coming at 41-40. The Huskies thwarted the attempt to bring the set to a close with a kill for the tie and then recorded back-to-back blocks for the 43-41 decision.
The Flashes led in most of the statistical categories, including 27-23 in kills and 37-26 in digs. Bittinger nearly notched a double-double with 10 kills and eight digs. The two-time All-MAC First Team performer delivered several big swings and had six of her kills after the 30-point mark. Freshman Natalie Tagala registered 24 assists in the set and senior Challen Geraghty led the defense with 12 digs.
However, Kent State committed 14 attack errors to just nine by NIU. The Flashes also had five service errors, two blocking errors and one ball handling error in the set.
"We started off very flat and love how we fought back to give ourselves a chance," Gromala added. "But similar to last night, we gave away too many points and were unable to slow down a couple of their attackers."
Kent State scored seven straight to go ahead, 13-9, in the second set. However, NIU fought back to tie it, 15-15. With the score tied 19-19, the Huskies posted consecutive kills for a 21-19 lead that forced the Flashes to call timeout. A NIU blocking error made it 21-20, but the hosts pulled away with three straight points before taking the set, 25-22.
A slow start in which it fell behind 7-3 caused Kent State to call an early timeout in set 3. The Flashes got within a point at 9-8 after scoring four in a row. NIU answered with its own four-point rally, which was part of a 6-1 run. Kent State never got closer than two points the rest of the way, and the Huskies shut the door with a 25-20 victory.
Both teams had 53 kills, but Kent State hit just .151, while NIU had a .233 hitting percentage. The Flashes also held a 75-65 advantage in digs, which matches their season-high in three-setters.
Bittinger led all players with 19 kills and added 17 digs for her 10th double-double of the season. Senior Heather Younkin added 15 kills and Mantas added 12 kills to give Kent State three players in double-digits. Tagala finished with 46 assists.
Senior Challen Geraghty had a match-high 25 digs to move ahead of Bowling Green's Chelsey Mack for third on the MAC career digs list with 2,311.
Kent State hosts Buffalo and rival Akron next weekend for the final home stand of the season.
