Kent State University
Northern Illinois
Kent State Hosts NIU for Final Home Volleyball Weekend
3/18/2021 3:31:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Kent State will conclude its home schedule for the spring 2021 volleyball season this weekend against Northern Illinois. First serve at the M.A.C. Center is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Friday, March 19 and 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 20. Seniors Ezri Edwards, Kaeleigh Stang and Natalie Tagala will be honored prior to Saturday's match.
LAST TIME OUT
Playing at the M.A.C. Center for the first time since November 2019, the Golden Flashes (11-5) won the first two sets before falling to Ohio, 3-2, on Tuesday during the team's annual 'Dig Pink' match. Savannah Matthews finished with a match-high 19 kills, and Morgan Copley added 13 kills. Alex Haffner recorded 48 assists from the setter position. Bryn Roberts led the defense with 18 digs, while Haffner and Matthews added 15 and 10 digs, respectively. Copley, Lana Strejcek and Danie Tyson all shared the team lead with three blocks.
FLASH FACTS
Kent State is third in the Mid-American Conference standings and ranks third in the conference with a .233 team hitting percentage and fourth in kills per set (13.54). Redshirt junior Alex Haffner, a three-time MAC East Division Setter of the Week honoree this season, is third in the MAC and 19th in the nation in assists per set (11.13 apg). Haffner has utilized being surrounded by several attacking options and the Flashes are the only team in the conference with six players who have at least 100 kills. Sophomore Savannah Matthews is third in the MAC with an average of 4.37 points per set and fourth with 3.95 kills per set. Sophomores Taylor Heberle and Morgan Copley average 3.02 kills and 2.46 kills per set, respectively. Juniors Lana Strejcek (1.79 kps) and Danie Tyson (1.71 kps) have been efficient offensive weapons in the middle. Strejcek has a MAC-best .356 hitting percentage, while Tyson ranks sixth with a .326 hitting percentage.
Kent State is 28th in the country in digs (17.92 dps) while ranking second in the MAC in opponent hitting percentage (.186) and seventh in blocks (2.05 bps). Junior Erin Gardner averages a team-best 4.75 digs per set. Freshman Bryn Roberts (3.22 dps) has averaged 4.67 digs per set while wearing the libero jersey the past two weeks. Matthews and Haffner add 3.02 digs and 2.97 digs per set, respectively. Strejcek leads the conference with 18 solo blocks and is sixth overall in blocks per set (1.10).
SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS
The Huskies (7-10) have lost three of their last four matches, with all three setbacks coming in three sets. Northern Illinois posted its second-highest hitting percentage of the season (.273) on Wednesday, but allowed MAC West leader Western Michigan to hit at a .443 clip.
Outside hitter Katie Jablonski leads the offense with 2.69 kills per set, but has averaged just 2.19 over the last five matches. Middle blockers Kennedy Wallace (2.38 kps) and Jasmine Kemp (1.84 kps) both average at least one block per set. Wallace has stepped up as an offensive weapon recently, hitting better than .400 in three of the last five matches while averaging 3.06 kills per set during this stretch. Setter Grace Balensiefer averages 9.19 assists per set and 2.50 digs per set. Libero Samantha Juarez leads the Huskies with 4.33 digs per set.
SERIES HISTORYÂ
Kent State owns a 9-30 record all-time against Northern Illinois. The Huskies earned a 3-1 win last season in DeKalb, but the Golden Flashes won 3-2 the last time they played at the M.A.C. Center in 2018. Head coach Don Gromala is 3-5 against NIU.
UP NEXT
Kent State is scheduled to visit Ohio to complete the season series on Tuesday, March 23.
FOLLOW THE FLASHES
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