Kent State University
13-15, 6-8MAC
Akron
11-14, 3-11MAC
Flashes Clinch MAC Tournament Spot with Rivalry Match Victory
11/3/2018 9:34:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
AKRON, Ohio – Kent State earned its first season sweep of rival Akron since 2015 with a 3-2 (25-21, 19-25, 25-15, 15-25, 15-12) victory on Saturday at James A. Rhodes Arena. The victory gives the Golden Flashes the full point in the Crystal Clinic Wagon Wheel Challenge.
The Golden Flashes (13-15, 6- MAC) also clinched a spot in the upcoming Mid-American Conference Tournament with Toledo's loss to Central Michigan.
"This was an awesome win, and I'm really proud of the way this team competed," said head coach Don Gromala. "It was kind of a weird match that went back and forth each set. Our girls really stepped up in the fifth set after getting knocked down hard in the fourth. It was great to see them respond with a strong start to the fifth, and that was really the difference in the match."
After losing 16 of the final 20 points in the fourth set, Kent State never trailed in the fifth. The Flashes forced Akron to call both of its timeout with the score 7-2 and added two more points when play resumed for a commanding 9-2 advantage. A kill by Melissa Kolurbasi made it 14-9 before the Zips recorded three consecutive kills. Following a timeout to regroup, Kathryn Ellison put the ball away off the block to seal the victory.
Kent State posted a .284 hitting percentage with 57 kills and only 15 attack errors, the fewest in a five-setter this season. Freshman Melissa Kolurbasi led the way with 13 kills and a career-high .458 hitting percentage. Junior Myla King also set a career-high in hitting percentage (.529) and posted 11 kills. Freshman Kathryn Ellison had her best match since returning to action last Saturday and finished with 12 kills and a .357 hitting percentage. Freshman Danie Tyson added nine kills. The quartet combined for 45 kills and a .409 hitting percentage.
"Our offense was really firing, especially our right sides and middles," added Gromala. "That was a key for us coming in, and they did their job of putting the ball away at critical times."
Redshirt freshman Alex Haffner had a team-high 24 assists and sophomore Natalie Tagala was right behind with 22 assists. Tagala added nine digs to just miss a double-double.
Freshman Erin Gardner led all players with 19 digs and was perfect in 20 serve-receive opportunities. Gardner now has 501 digs and is just the second Kent State player ever to reach the 500-dig mark as a freshman.
Senior Sam Jones had 10 digs and both of the Flashes' aces, while sophomore Kaeleigh Stang added eight digs.
Six players contributed to the team's eight blocks. Danie Tyson led the way with four and Melissa Kolurbasi had three.
Kent State returns to the M.A.C. Center next weekend for a pair of matches to end the regular season. The Golden Flashes host Miami on Friday, Nov. 9 and Bowling Green for Senior Night on Saturday, Nov. 10.
Be sure to follow Kent State Volleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for news and updates about the squad.
