Kent State University
3-1,0-0MAC
Saint Francis (Pa.)
0-4,0-0NEC
Flashes Beat Saint Francis 3-1 in Volleyball Home Opener
8/31/2021 9:38:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
KENT, Ohio – An impressive blocking performance boosted Kent State to victory in its home opener, 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-20, 25-12), over Saint Francis (Pa.) on Tuesday evening at the M.A.C. Center.
The Golden Flashes (3-1) totaled 14 blocks on the night, which is the most since posting 17 against Central Michigan back in 2018. Freshman Ainsley Guse and senior Danie Tyson led the way with six stuffs each, while junior Morgan Copley and senior Melissa Kolurbasi added five apiece.
Kent State lost the first two points of the contest before taking a 4-2 lead. Tied at 8-8, the Flashes went on a 7-2 run to take control of the set. The Red Flash attempted to rally late, but redshirt senior Alex Haffner found an open spot on the floor for a kill to end the first set, 25-21.
Saint Francis scored six straight points midway through the second set to take an 18-14 lead. Despite still trailing by four at 22-18, the Flashes battled to within 24-23 before losing the ensuing point and heading to the intermission tied.
A slow start saw Kent State trail 5-0 in the third before surging to go ahead 11-10. The Flashes went ahead for good with three consecutive points to make it 16-13 and closed the set with a 25-20 victory.
Kent State never trailed in the fourth, scoring the set's first five points and building a 10-1 lead. The advantage reached 13 points on three occasions, including the 25-12 final score. The Flashes hit .296 in the set and had six blocks to force the Red Flash into a -.138 hitting percentage.
Morgan Copley led the offense with 12 kills. Junior Savannah Matthews and senior Danie Tyson added nine kills each. Alex Haffner recorded 40 assists.
Defensively, junior Gracey Jarecke tallied a team-high 15 digs and junior Taylor Heberle added 12.
Kent State will play three matches this weekend at the Fairfield Invitational against Hofstra, Seton Hall and host Fairfield.
