Kent State University
Bowling Green
Flashes Face Falcons for First Place
2/24/2021 4:58:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
First place in the Mid-American Conference volleyball standings will be on the line when Kent State hosts Bowling Green for two matches at the Basketball and Volleyball Development Center. The teams will play at 6 p.m. on Thursday and 5 p.m. on Friday.
The Golden Flashes (8-1) bounced back from a disappointing five-set loss to Eastern Michigan last Monday with a pair of 3-0 wins at Toledo on Saturday and Sunday. Sophomore Savannah Matthews had two dominant performances with 34 kills (5.67 kps) while hitting .394 to go with 29 digs (4.83 dps). Matthews posted a career-best .536 hitting percentage on Saturday.
The offense has averaged a conference-best 14.41 kills per set, which ranks 15th in the country. The Flashes have also posted the top hitting percentage (.259) in the MAC.
Redshirt junior Alex Haffner, a three-time MAC East Division Setter of the Week honoree this season, is second in the nation in assists per set (12.09 apg). Haffner is second on the team with eight aces.
Outside hitters Savannah Matthews and Taylor Heberle are off to sensational sophomore seasons. Matthews leads the conference in points (4.75) and kills (4.31) per set. Heberle averages a team-best 0.32 aces per set and adds 3.63 points per set and 3.13 kills per set. Junior Lana Strejcek (1.91 kps) owns a .383 hitting percentage that ranks 50th nationally. Junior Danie Tyson (1.66 kps) is hitting at a .326 clip, which is good for eighth in the conference.
Defensively, Kent State is 21 in the country in digs (18.16 dps) and fourth in the MAC in blocks (2.25 bps). Junior Erin Gardner averages a team-best 4.75 digs per set. Matthews and Haffner added 3.16 and 2.84 digs per set, respectively. Strejcek leads the conference with 1.19 blocks per set.
SCOUTING BOWLING GREEN
The Falcons (9-0) are the final undefeated team in the MAC and have received votes in the AVCA Coaches Top-25 Poll each of the past two weeks. Bowling Green has six 3-0 victories and has lost just five sets overall. The Falcons rank in the top-35 nationally in kills per set (14.13), hitting percentage defense (.142) and digs per set (17.59).
Outside hitters Katelyn Meyer and Petra Indrova provide dynamic scoring options at the pin. Meyer is third in the MAC in points (4.63) and kills (4.31) per set, while Indrova is sixth in both categories with averages of 4.41 points and 4.31 kills per set. Outside hitter Jacqueline Askin (3.53 kps) has emerged over the past two weekends and had 21 kills, the most by a Falcon this season, against Ohio last Thursday. Setter Hanna Laube is second in the MAC and ranks eighth nationally with 11.59 assists per set. Libero Julia Walz is fifth in the conference with 5.03 digs per set.
SERIES HISTORY
Kent State is 24-60 all-time against Bowling Green. The Golden Flashes snapped an eight-match losing streak in the series with a 3-1 victory in the second meeting of the 2019 season. The victory was Kent State's first at the Stroh Center, which opened in 2011, and the 100th for head coach Don Gromala. The Flashes' leader is 3-13 against the Falcons.
UP NEXT
Kent State are scheduled to host MAC East Division favorite Miami Thursday, March 4 and Friday, March 5.
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