Kent State University
12-10,3-8MAC
Buffalo
13-10,5-6MAC
Gardner Joins 2,000-Digs Club in Friday Match at Buffalo
10/21/2022 8:47:00โฏPM | Women's Volleyball
BUFFALO, N.Y. โ Graduate student Erin Gardner added her name to the short list of Kent State volleyball players who have recorded 2,000 career digs during a 3-0 (16-25, 24-26, 13-25) setback Friday night at Buffalo.
Gardner, who has almost exclusively donned the libero jersey for nearly all of the 414 sets she has appeared in over the past five seasons, joins Challen Geraghty (2,441) and Lauren Jensen (2,167) as the only Golden Flashes who have reached the milestone. She totaled 11 digs in the contest, sharing the team lead with graduate student Alex Haffner and junior Bryn Roberts.
Playing without a pair of attackers who recently surpassed 1,000 career kills, Kent State (12-10, 3-8 MAC) finished with a season-low 30 kills. Freshman Mia Soerensen led the way with 10 while posting a .563 hitting percentage. Senior Morgan Copley added eight kills and Haffner recorded 24 assists.
How it Happenedโฆ
ย ย ย Set 1: After falling behind 9-2, Kent State played even with the host Bulls over the next 24 points. Buffalo followed with a 4-2 run to take the set.
ย ย ย Set 2: A back-and-forth battle that included 10 ties and eight lead changes saw the Golden Flashes take the largest lead of the set, 22-18, after consecutive kills by Mia Soerensen and Ainsley Guse. The Bulls then scored three straight to get within a point. Mackenzie McGuire followed with a kill, but Buffalo answered to sideout. After a service error gave Kent State chance to close out the set, the Bulls scored four straight to take a 2-0 lead.
ย ย ย Set 3: Buffalo opened with a 5-0 lead to take early control and posted a .400 hitting percentage for the set.
Up Next for the Flashes
Kent State returns to the M.A.C. Center next weekend to host Northern Illinois on Friday, Oct. 28 and Western Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 29.
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