Kent State University
0-2
New Mexico
2-0
Flashes Sweep Omaha to Conclude Opening Weekend
8/26/2017 8:41:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
AMES, Iowa – Kent State split a pair of matches Saturday at the Cyclone Invitational to finish opening weekend with a 1-2 record. The Golden Flashes lost their first match of the day to New Mexico, 3-0 (23-25, 18-25, 22-25), but bounced back to sweep Omaha, 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-21) in the finale.
After struggling to get much going offensively on Friday, Kent State saw improvement in that area in each match on Saturday. The Flashes posted 83 kills (13.83/set) and a .200 hitting percentage compared to just 25 kills (8.33/set) and .080 against the host Cyclones.
Preseason All-MAC East Division selections Kelsey Bittinger and Challen Geraghty led the way for the Flashes. Bittinger posted 36 kills with a .392 hitting percentage to go with 14 digs, while Geraghty made defensive plays all over the court for 48 digs.
Bittinger was named to the Cyclone Invitational All-Tournament Team with 46 kills (5.11/set) while hitting .349 and 22 digs (2.44/set) on the weekend. The senior outside hitter moved ahead of Jennifer Maibach (1994-97) and Sarah Kutschinski (1998-01) for seventh on Kent State's career kills list (1,171) on Saturday.
Senior opposite Heather Younkin bounced back from a tough opener and contributed 19 kills and five blocks. Freshman setter Natalie Tagala saw her first action and had 53 assists, 14 digs and a team-high three aces.
Match 1: New Mexico 3, Kent State 0 (23-25, 18-25, 22-25)
Kent State allowed big runs late in each set of a 3-0 setback to New Mexico. The contest featured 26 ties and 10 lead changes.
The Golden Flashes were much-improved offensively from Friday's opener, totaling 38 kills and a .189 hitting percentage, compared to 25 and .080 against host Iowa State. Kelsey Bittinger and Heather Younkin combined to hit .339 with 26 kills to provide excellent production at the pins. Bittinger led all players with 18 kills and registered a .359 hitting percentage, while Younkin added eight terminations.
Kent State's defense was not at its standard level of play, however, as the Lobos hit .284 as a team with 48 kills. The Flashes did hold a 44-41 advantage in digs but finished with just six blocks after recording five in the opening set.
The teams traded points to start the match until New Mexico rallied off five straight to go ahead, 13-8. A block by Brittney Jakscht and Myla King gave the Flashes a 17-16 lead to cap a 9-3 run. Tied 20-20, the Lobos posted four straight kills and took a 24-20 lead on a ball handling error following a timeout. A service error allowed Kent State to side out, and Bittinger, Naomi Oberg and Younkin contributed on back-to-back blocks to pull within a point. However, an attack error on the next point gave New Mexico the first set.
Kent State scored three straight on kills by Ashley Makruski and Younkin and a ball handling error for its largest lead of the second set, 8-5. New Mexico answered with a five-point rally that started a 20-10 run to finish the set. The Lobos posted 15 kills and just two error on 30 attempts for a .433 hitting percentage.
The final set featured 10 ties in the first 22 points before Kent State created separation with a 7-3 run for an 18-14 lead. New Mexico scored five straight after a timeout as part of an 11-4 run to complete the sweep.
Challen Geraghty tallied a match-high 18 digs to lead the Flashes' floor defense. King, Oberg and Younkin had three blocks apiece.
Natalie Tagala led the Flashes with 18 assists and Jakscht had 12 assists.
Match 2: Kent State 3, Omaha 0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-21)
A dominant first set paved the way for Kent State to sweep its way to the first victory of the season.
The Golden Flashes lost the opening point but scored the next five and never looked back, leading by as many as 11 points. Kent State had its best offensive set of the season with 16 kills and 4 errors on 37 attempts for a .324 hitting percentage.
Kent State scored the first four points in the second set, but Omaha came right back to go ahead 7-6. Trailing 14-13, Kent State rallied off seven straight to lead 20-14. The Mavericks pulled within a point at 24-23, but a bad set gave set point to the Flashes.
The final set also started with a 4-0 lead for Kent State. Omaha fought to take brief 13-12 and 14-13 leads only for the Flashes to go on an 8-5 run that put them ahead, 24-19. The Mavericks staved off two match points before committing an attack error to give Kent State the victory.
Kelsey Bittinger had another monster performance with a match-high 18 kills while hitting .429. The senior added 10 digs for her first double-double of the year. Heather Younkin posted double-figure kills for the first time this season with 11 detonations. Ashley Makruski added a career-high eight kills.
Natalie Tagala recorded her first career double-double with 35 assists and 10 digs. Tagala also led all players with three aces.
Challen Geraghty tallied a season-high 30 digs.
Up Next
Kent State is back on the road next weekend (Sept. 1-2) at the Cardinal Classic in Louisville, Kentucky. The Golden Flashes will play a challenging field of Illinois, Western Kentucky and host Louisville.
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