Kent State University
Ohio
MAC Volleyball Race Commences Thursday at Ohio
9/19/2018 8:00:00โฏPM | Women's Volleyball
The Kent State volleyball team concludes a nine-match road swing with contests on Ohio on Thursday and Eastern Michigan on Saturday to start the Mid-American Conference season.
One of seven MAC teams that posted a .500 or better non-conference record, the Golden Flashes (7-7) begin the quest to return to the conference tournament after a streak of four consecutive appearances was snapped last season.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Thursday, September 20
7:00 p.m.ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Kent State at Ohio โ Live Statsย ย ย ย ย Video
Saturday, September 22
5:00 p.m.ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Kent State at Eastern Michigan โ Live Statsย ย ย ย ย Video
Thursday's conference opener at Ohio will be broadcast on ESPN3ย with live stats also available. Saturday's match will be broadcast on EMU All-Access and also have live stats.
LAST TIME OUT
Kent State closed the non-conference season by going 1-2 against a competitive field at the Bulldog Brawl over the weekend. The Golden Flashes fell to Santa Clara (3-1) on Friday, but bounced back to defeat regional rival Cleveland State (3-1) in the first of two matches on Saturday. Kent State then lost to host Butler (3-0) in the tournament finale.
Freshman Erin Gardner was named to the all-tournament team for her outstanding floor defense and serve-receive play. Gardner averaged 5.82 digs per set over the three matches, which included a 27-dig performance against Santa Clara and a 20-dig performance against Cleveland State. The Avon, Ohio native has already tallied 20 or more digs five times this season.
Kent State posted 17.73 digs per set as a team with four additional players contributing at least 2.00 per set. Redshirt freshman Alex Haffner posted 3.18 digs per set and was the program's first setter to record 20 digs since 2016 against Santa Clara. Sophomore Kaeleigh Stang continued her excellent play by averaging 2.45 digs per set. Stang has tallied double-figure digs in five of the past six matches, including a career-high 15 in a 3-0 victory against NJIT. Freshman Kathryn Ellison and senior Sam Jones added 2.27 and 2.18 digs per set, respectively.
Ellison led the offensive attack with an average of 2.09 kills per set. Seniors Darby Connors and Amy Kober posted 1.90 kills per set each. Haffner ran the offense at setter and averaged 8.82 assists per set.
Junior Myla King was a catalyst in the victory against Cleveland State. King matched her career-high with 14.5 points and set season-highs for kills (11) and total blocks (7).
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Ohio (5-8)
Preseason conference favorite Ohio scheduled a difficult preseason schedule that included six matches against teams from Power 5 conferences. The Bobcats went 1-5 in those contests, with a 3-0 neutral court sweep of Wake Forest as the lone tally in the win column. One week after posting a 2-1 record at its home tournament, Ohio went 1-2 this past weekend at the Mizzou Invitational. The Bobcats
The Bobcats feature three players who were selected to the Preseason MAC East Division All-MAC Team. 2017 MAC Setter of the Year Vera Giacomazzi (6.57 assists per set) is the starts in a system that utilizes two setters. 2017 MAC Freshman of the Year Tia Jimerson (3.00 kills per set, 0.95 blocks per set) has missed the past seven matches. Outside hitter Lizzie Stephens (2.31 kills per set) was fifth in the conference in kills per set a season ago.
After being sidelined with an injury last season, outside hitter Jaime Kosiorek has returned to the court to give Ohio several offensive options. Kosiorek is the team leader with 129 kills (2.63 per set), while ranking ninth nationally in aces per set (0.61) and 10th in the conference in points per set (3.40).
Ohio averages 2.17 blocks per set, which ranks third in the MAC. Middle blocker Simone Miller is the conference blocking leader (1.28 per set), while middle blocker Katie Nelson adds 0.94 blocks per set and 2.19 kills per set.
Libero Macy Reihing boasts a team-best average of 4.00 digs per set.
Eastern Michigan (8-6)
The Eagles look to end a three-match skid in their conference opener on Thursday at Central Michigan. Eastern Michigan started the season with an 8-3 record before dropping all three matches at the Robert Morris Invitational. The Eagles played three common opponents (Cleveland State, Purdue Fort Wayne, Robert Morris) during the preseason and had an identical 1-2 record against that group.
Outstanding defense has been the key to EMU's success this season. The Eagles rank seventh in the country in digs per set (18.16) and 18th in opponent hitting percentage (.148), while leading the MAC in blocks (2.25 per set).
Middle blockers Cassie Haut (1.16 blocks per set) and April Houston (1.09 block per set) form the top two blocking duo in the conference. Libero Alyssa LaFace is enjoying a breakout senior season and ranks fifth nationally with 5.88 digs per set.
EMU averages 13.22 kills per set, which is second in the conference. Outside hitter Jordan Smith boasts 3.63 kills per set to lead the way. Haut adds 2.84 kills per set and a .341 hitting percentage in the middle, while outside hitter Franki Strifling adds 2.23 kills per set. Mallory Rajewski (7.57 assists per set) and Riley Taylor (4.06 assists per set) share setting duties.
ALL-TIME VS. OPPONENTSย
Kent State is 26-54 all-time against Ohio after splitting the series a year ago. The Flashes are 8-31 in Athens, and head coach Don Gromala is 3-11 against the Bobcats.
Kent State owns a 19-35-1 record all-time against Eastern Michigan but has won three of the last four matchups. The Flashes are 7-17 in Ypsilanti, and head coach Don Gromala is 3-4 vs. the Eagles.
UP NEXT
Kent State hosts rival Akron (Sept. 28) and Buffalo (Sept. 29) for the first home matches of the conference season.
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