The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Southern Miss.
Volleyball Falls in Five to Southern Miss.
September 10 | Women's Volleyball
MILWAUKEE – In the final match of the Miilwaukee/Marquette Invitational, The University of Akron volleyball team fell to Southern Miss. 3-2 (21-25, 25-19, 25-22, 16-25, 10-15) in a tight match from start to finish. The Zips (3-7) came back to win the second and third sets after dropping a close opening set but could not overtake the Golden Eagles (4-5) in the final two frames.
It was a total team effort, as several Zips recorded career highs in the match. Christina Furda and Chelsea Harvey both notched career highs in assists, with 24 and 19, respectively. At the net, Akron totaled 15.0 blocks, helped by a career-best 10 blocks from Paiton Twitty. On offense, senior Courtney Jarvis led the attack with 16 kills, while Alex Cocklin was close behind with 13. For the match, Akron finished with a .167 hitting percentage, with the Eagles hit .199 with 13.5 team blocks.
The opening set was a back-and-forth battle, with the Zips taking a 12-9 lead early on. Akron managed to stay in front until Southern Miss. evened the score at 15 all. Again, both teams traded points down the stretch and the score remained tied at 18 apiece. The Eagles then won two straight points for a 20-18 edge late in the frame.
Out of an Akron timeout, Jarvis nailed a kill for UA, but USM took the next point and still held a two-point advantage. A blocking error by Akron put the Zips down 23-20. The teams exchanged the next two points and the Eagles held set point, up 24-21, forcing another Zip timeout. Southern Miss. closed it out on the next point, however, to take a 1-0 lead.
In the second set, the Eagles jumped out to a 7-1 lead until freshman Kymberle Gordon notched a kill to put one on the board for Akron. A slam by Cocklin and a pair of Southern Miss. errors brought UA to within two, down 9-7. The Zips' comeback rolled on, as UA managed to tie it a 9-9 thanks to five consecutive points.
The run did not stop there, as Akron took an 11-9 lead out of a USM timeout. The Eagles would get back on the board, but the Zips stretched the lead to 16-11, due largely to superior blocking at the net. Later in the set, UA opened up a 19-12 margin, but the Eagles came back to win the next three points. Akron still led 21-17 and took two more in a row to maintain control. USM continued to challenge, making it 23-19, but UA handled the pressure and closed out the set on an ace to tie the match at 1-1.
The third set was a tight battle the entire time, featuring 17 tie scores. It began like the first, with the score tied 7-7 as neither team could break away. The score remained knotted at 14 apiece until the Zips finally took a slim 16-14 lead after a Jarvis kill from the left side. Deep in the set, Akron maintained an 18-16 advantage, but the Eagles kept coming and again tied it at 18-18.
A tip kill by Tina Dimitrijevs kept UA in front, but USM tied it on the next point. Gordon got in on the action with a pair of kills as the Zips went up 21-20. Jarvis added a tip kill two points later to help keep the slight edge. A blocking error by Southern Miss. gave Akron a 23-21 lead, and the Zips put the set away 25-22 on a kill from Mary Delich to go ahead 2-1.
The Eagles owned the early advantage in the fourth, up 6-4. Akron continued to hang around and trailed just 10-8 later in the set. USM would extend its lead to 13-9, however, and force UA to call a timeout. The Zips answered by winning the following three points to pull within one. As the frame continued, USM widened its lead to 19-15 and forced another UA timeout.
Despite Akron's efforts, Southern Miss. took the next three points to open up a 22-15 lead, giving them control of the set. Jarvis notched a kill for the Zips, but USM closed it out, 25-16, and sent the match to a deciding fifth set.
UA took an early 3-1 lead in the final frame, but the Eagles came back to take a 4-3 lead. After a kill by Paiton Twitty tied it for Akron, USM regained the lead and went up 7-4, causing a Zip timeout. Back-to-back kills by Gordon and Jarvis then pulled Akron to within one, down 7-6. Southern Miss. claimed the next point with a kill, and an Akron error gave the Eagles a 9-6 advantage.
A cross-court kill by Jarvis secured another point for Akron, who trailed 10-7, but USM continued to answer. Down 11-8, a Zip service error gave the Eagles another point. A block by Dimitrijevs made it 13-9, Eagles, and Akron came right back with another block to trail by three, 13-10. Southern Miss. took the next two points to claim the hard-fought victory, winning the fifth set 15-10.
The Zips will be back in action next weekend at the Sports Imports Classic hosted by Ohio State on Sept. 16 & 17.
