Kent State University
Eastern Michigan
Golden Flashes Open 2018 MAC Volleyball Championship Thursday
11/15/2018 12:42:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Kent State makes its return to the Mid-American Conference Volleyball Championship following a one-year hiatus with a first round match against Eastern Michigan at 4:30 p.m. Friday afternoon inside Millett Hall on the campus of Miami University. The Golden Flashes (13-17, 6-10 MAC) enter as the No. 8 seed, while the Eagles earned the No. 5 seed.
Kent State lost to EMU, 3-0 (19-25, 20-25, 9-25), in Ypsilanti to conclude the opening weekend of conference play back on Sept. 22. The Flashes enter the postseason as a much a different team, however. In addition to switching back to a 6-2 offense, outside hitter Lexi Mantas and opposite Melissa Kolurbasi (MAC All-Freshman Team) have become much more involved in the team's attack. The duo played for just 10 points combined and did not record an attack attempt in the match. Kathryn Ellison had a team-high 20 digs as the Flashes held a 64-61 advantage in digs. Erin Gardner added 18 digs. Alex Haffner posted a double-double (27 assists, 13 digs) and Ashley Makruski led the offense with 10 kills.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
The winner of Thursday's match advances to Friday's quarterfinal contest against fourth-seeded Buffalo at 4:30 p.m.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The top eight teams in the conference standings, regardless of division, earn spots in the MAC Volleyball Championship. The conference's top two seeds earn a bye to the semifinals, which will be played on Saturday. The No. 3 and No. 4 seeds earn a bye to the quarterfinals, which will be played on Friday. The other four teams play in first round matchups on Thursday and must win four matches in order to claim the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
