Kent State University
1-0
Eastern Kentucky
0-1
Volleyball Sweeps EKU in Season Opener
8/30/2019 10:11:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Four of seven sets were decided by just two points as the Kent State volleyball team went 1-1 at the Charlotte Invitational on Friday. The Golden Flashes started the day with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-17) win against Eastern Kentucky and then fell to host Charlotte, 3-1 (24-26, 25-23, 24-26, 20-25).
Freshman Savannah Matthews totaled a team-high 28 kills and added 26 digs in her first collegiate action. Sophomore Danie Tyson led Kent State in hitting percentage (.405) while posting 16 kills. Redshirt sophomore Alex Haffner recorded 74 assists to go with 21 digs and 11 kills. Sophomore Erin Gardner led the defense with 43 digs.
Match 1: Kent State 3, Eastern Kentucky 0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-17)
After a narrow two-point victory in the opening set, Kent State went on to sweep Eastern Kentucky with a more comfortable margin of victory in each of the following sets.
The first 24 points of the day featured 11 ties and four lead changes until the Golden Flashes took the lead for good at 13-12. Leading by two late in the set, Kent State scored six of seven points for a 24-17 lead. The Colonels continued to fight an got within 24-23, but Savannah Matthews delivered a clutch kill to close the set.
Four different Flashes had kills on successive points for the largest lead in the second set, 13-6. Eastern Kentucky never got within four the rest of the way, and Matthews once again recorded the set-winning kill.
After trailing by one early in the third set, Kent State used a 12-4 run to begin pulling away. Alex Haffner's solo block put an exclamation put on the victory. The Flashes posted their fewest kills (8) of the night in the set, but limited mistakes with only one attack error while EKU committed 11 attack errors.
Kent State held the Colonels to a .061 hitting percentage and kept them under .100 in every set. Erin Gardner tallied a match-high 16 digs to lead the floor defense, while Savannah Matthews and Carissa Reyes added eight digs apiece. Jacqlyn Caspers had five blocks in her college debut.
Matthews led the offense with nine kills. Danie Tyson recorded kills on seven of her 14 errorless swings. Alex Haffner had 25 assists and kills on five of six attempts.
Match 2: Charlotte 3, Kent State 1 (24-26, 25-23, 24-26, 20-25)
Charlotte found a way to score at critical moments to come out on top in a contest that featured 42 ties and 11 lead changes.
Kent State led 23-21 in the first on a kill by Savannah Matthews, but the host 49ers won five of the next six points to steal the set.
The Golden Flashes used a 9-3 run in the middle of the second set to flip a five-point deficit into a 16-15 lead. Back-to-back kills by Matthews would make it 22-20, but the late lead disappeared once again as Charlotte went ahead 23-22. Alex Haffner stepped up to prevent another close loss with a kill to tie it. Haffner then connected with Matthews for a kill and teamed with Danie Tyson on a block to give it to the Flashes, 25-23.
The third set emulated the first, as Charlotte scored six of the final seven points for a 26-24 victory.
With the score tied at 16-16 in the fourth, the 49ers pulled away with a 7-1 run. Kent State continued to battle and won three of the next four points before a kill gave Charlotte the 25-20 victory.
Savannah Matthews (19 kills, 18 digs) and Alex Haffner (49 assists, 15 digs) recorded double-doubles. Haffner also matched her career-high with six kills. Melissa Kolurbasi added 10 kills.
Four Flashes tallied double-digit digs in the match. Erin Gardner led the way with 29 digs and Carissa Reyes had 12 digs.
Up Next
Kent State concludes opening weekend against Gardner-Webb on Saturday at 10 a.m. The Runnin' Bulldogs lost to Charlotte (3-0) and Eastern Kentucky (3-1) in Friday's action.
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