The University of Akron Athletics
Volleyball returns home to 'Dig for a Cure'
October 18 | Women's Volleyball
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AKRON, Ohio -- The University of Akron volleyball team comes home for the first time in three weeks to host Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan this weekend. Middle blocker Tina Dimitrijevs will be seeking career kill No. 1,000 as the Zips are look to right the ship after two close losses at Western Michigan and Northern Illinois last weekend. Friday's match against EMU is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Rhodes Arena, while Saturday's contest against CMU will begin at 5 p.m., and has been designated Akron's "Dig for the Cure" match. Pink shirts will be sold at the match for $10.
MATCH INFORMATION
Dates: Oct. 19-20
Location: Akron, Ohio
Site: James A. Rhodes Arena (5,500)
The Series: Akron leads Eastern Michigan, 17-14; Akron trails Central Michigan, 11-16
Head Coaches: Ron Arenz (90-116 overall, 54-87 at UA); Kim Berrington (367-331 overall, 264-256 at EMU); Erik Olson (120-130 overall and at CMU)
Akron Assistant Coaches: Aline Dos Santos (Assistant Coach); Jayme Plummer (Assistant Coach); Beth Greulich (Graduate Assistant); Kassie Kadera (Volunteer Assistant)
Livestats: Click here
Video stream: Click here
Match notes: Click here
ZIP LINES
The University of Akron volleyball team is in its 39th year of existence ... Head coach Ron Arenz is in his fifth season with the team and holds a 54-87 (.383) record ... Last season the Zips finished with a 4-25 record and were 1-15 in Mid-American Conference play, finishing sixth in the East Division ... Arenz has coached an All-MAC performer in each of his first four seasons at UA.
ON DECK FOR AKRON
The Zips come home for the first time this month when they host Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan this weekend at Rhodes Arena. Akron will take on EMU on Friday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m., and CMU on Saturday, Oct. 20 at 5 p.m. The matchup against the Chippewas on Saturday has been designated UA's "Dig for the Cure" match in support of breast cancer awareness.
SCOUTING EASTERN MICHIGAN
The Eagles entered the 2012 season with 10 letterwinners, including five starters plus their libero, returning from last year's squad. Eastern Michigan, led by 17th-year head coach Kim Berrington, posted a 21-11 overall record last season, finishing fourth in the West Division standings with a 9-7 mark. EMU was picked to finish fifth in the West in the MAC's preseason poll this year. The Eagles travel to Akron on the heels of two home losses to Bowling Green and Miami last weekend.
Akron leads the all time series with Eastern Michigan, 17-14, but was shutout in straight sets when the two teams met in Ypsilanti in 2011.
Eastern standout and preseason All-MAC selection Rachel Iaquaniello leads the league in kills with 4.07 per set, supplemented by Kim Hildreth's 8.79 assists. As a team, the Eagles also are atop the conference standings in digs, posting 18.84 in MAC matches alone. Sierra Reed heads up the defensive effort with 4.16 digs per set, with help from Megan Crawshaw who averages 0.98 blocks.
SCOUTING CENTRAL MICHIGAN
The Chippewas began the 2012 season with five of their starters and seven letterwinners overall returning from the 2011 MAC Tournament championship team. Central Michigan, led by Erik Olson in his eighth season at the helm, recorded a 19-14 record last season, finishing an its MAC regular season schedule with an even 8-8 mark. CMU went on to win three straight matches in the conference tournament, including a gutsy 3-2 victory over regular season champion Northern Illinois, to advance to the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Chips were picked to finish third in the West in this year's preseason poll. Central Michigan split last weekend with a 3-1 win over Miami and a 3-2 loss to Bowling Green.
Akron trails the all-time series with Central Michigan, 11-16. The Zips will enter Saturday's match looking for their first victory over CMU since the 2005 season.
Central is the MAC's assists leader in conference contests with a 13.47 assists per set average, and as a result is second in the league in kills with 14.31. Setter Kelly Maxwell leads the way at No. 1 in the MAC with 11.78 assists per set, and Kaitlyn McIntyre follows with a team-high 3.56 kills per set. Defensively, Jenna Coates leads the league overall with 4.89 digs per set, and Angelique White puts up 0.99 blocks.
DIMITRIJEVS CLOSES IN ON 1,000
Tina Dimitrijevs enters this weekend's series needing just 28 kills to reach 1,000 for her career. Should she eclipse the milestone this weekend, she would be the second Zip in as many seasons to surpass 1,000 career kills, as Courtney Jarvis did the same last year. With eight matches left to play in the regular season, Dimitrijevs is still in the hunt to break into Akron's top-10 leaderboard of all time - she will need at least 1,087 kills to reach that next step.
COCKLIN DOUBLES UP
Junior outside hitter Alex Cocklin has really started to come alive for Akron over the past few weeks. She turned in back-to-back double-doubles last weekend in the Zips' two road contests. Against WMU, she put up a team-high 16 kills and 14 digs, and followed that up with 17 kills and 17 digs against NIU, which tied her career-high. Prior to last weekend, Cocklin had recorded just one double-double this season.
MISSED IT BY THAT MUCH
Akron fell just short of upset wins over two of the top teams in the West Division last weekend, coming up empty handed in four sets to Western Michigan and five sets to Northern Illinois. The Zips gave both teams all they could handle, including picking up their first set win against WMU in two years.
FANTASTIC FOUR
The Zips' defensive effort was a big reason they stayed in hot pursuit of their opponents during last weekend's outings. In both matches, four Akron players finished the night with double-figure digs - Alex Cocklin, Chelsea Harvey, Ashley Holder and Jill Paluch.
UP 2-0 IS THE WAY TO GO
There is something to be said about getting ahead of the competition. When the Zips have a jump on their opponent this season by means of a 2-0 lead after the first two sets, they have gone on to win the match every time, posting a 7-0 record in that situation.
WHERE THEY STAND
The Zips are still holding strong in their third spot in the East Division standings this week with a 3-5 MAC record after two cross-division road setbacks last weekend.
UA is in the top half of the league in five out of the seven major statistical categories in the conference overall. The Zips are third in service aces (1.26), fourth in assists (12.66) and fifth in hitting percentage (.223), kills (13.53) and blocks (2.11).
Individually, Tina Dimitrijevs still maintains the lead in the conference overall with her league-leading .375 hitting percentage. Paiton Twitty is eighth in the same category with a .284 clip. Setter Morgan Kuhn sits in fifth place with a 10.33 assists per set average. Defensively, Jill Paluch is ninth in the league in digs, averaging 4.29 per set.
MAC RPI
The Mid-American Conference is a tough group to hang with, as proven by the weekly NCAA RPI rankings. Five out of the MAC's 12 teams boast RPI's inside the top-100 in the country (out of 330 Division I teams). Akron has the third-best RPI in the East Division at 187. Bowling Green has the highest ranking in both the East and the West, jumping all the way up to 50 this week, and Ohio follows at 78.
TOP 100
The NCAA released the national ranking summary this week, for matches through Oct. 7. There are several categories in which the Zips fall into the Top 100 across the country:
As a TEAM...
» Assists Per Set: 69th out of 328 at 12.66 (Leader: Oregon, 14.85)
» Hitting Percentage: 95th out of 328 at .223 (Leader: BYU, .319)
» Kills Per Set: 71st out of 328 at 13.53 (Leader: Oregon, 15.78)
INDIVIDUALLY...
» Assists Per Set: Morgan Kuhn, 79th out of 250 at 10.33
» Hitting Percentage: Tina Dimitrijevs, 41st out of 250 at .375
