The University of Akron Athletics
No. 5 Volleyball opens MAC Tournament against No. 4 Northern Illinois
November 15 | Women's Volleyball
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2012 MAC Tournament Bracket | Tournament Central | SPIRE Institute
Download the Akron Volleyball Match Notes in PDF format
AKRON, Ohio – Fifth-seeded Akron is set to play in the opening match of the 2012 Mid-American Conference Tournament against the No. 4 seed Northern Illinois at 11 a.m. Friday at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. The Zips finished the regular season with the program's best overall and conference record in nine years at 16-12 and 9-7 in the MAC. UA has exhibited what could arguably be the most significant turnaround of any team in the league this year. Picked to finish last in the East Division in the MAC Preseason Poll following just one conference win in 2011, the Zips advanced to the MAC Tournament quarterfinals for the first time since 2003 when they defeated NIU, 3-2. Akron will set out to attain a similar result this time around, as it looks to avenge a five-set road loss to Northern from earlier this season. UA trails the all-time series with NIU, 8-20, and will be playing for its first victory over the Huskies since 2004.
MATCH INFORMATION
Date: Nov. 16
Location: Geneva, Ohio
Site: SPIRE Institute
The Series: Akron trails Northern Illinois, 8-20
Head Coaches: Ron Arenz (96-118 overall, 60-89 at UA); Ray Gooden (203-150 overall and at NIU)
Akron Assistant Coaches: Aline Dos Santos (Assistant Coach); Jayme Plummer (Assistant Coach); Beth Greulich (Graduate Assistant); Kassie Kadera (Volunteer Assistant)
Livestats: Available through mac-sports.com -- Click here
Video stream: None.
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 60-89 (.403) 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
Fifth-seeded Akron is set to play in the opening match of the 2012 Mid-American Conference Tournament in the quarterfinal round against the No. 4 seed Northern Illinois at 11 a.m. Friday at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva.
SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS
The Huskies finished the regular season in second place in the West Division, capped off by a huge 3-1 victory over Bowling Green at home.
In the two teams' only meeting this year, Akron came up short in five sets on the road. The Zips trail the all time series, 8-20, and will be playing for their first victory over Northern since 2004.
NIU ranks third among conference opponents in team hitting percentage at .233. The Huskies are also fourth in assists (12.78) and kills (13.76) and first in service aces (1.31). Junior Sarah Angelos enters the contest hitting .349, the second-best percentage in the league. Alexis Gonzalez and MacKenzie Roddy sit atop the conference rankings in service aces, each averaging 0.34 per set. Gonzalez paces the offense with 10.20 assists per set, while Roddy leads the team with 3.39 kills. Defensively, Amber Walker posts 4.87 digs per set anad Mary Kurisch adds 0.87 blocks.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Friday's match marks the first time that Akron has advanced to the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament since the 2003 season. The Zips faced NIU that year, winning in five sets to go on to the semifinals. UA would eventually fall to Marshall in three sets.
TURNING IT AROUND
UA has exhibited what could arguably be the most significant turnaround of any team in the league this year. Picked to finish last in the East Division in the MAC Preseason Poll following just one conference win in 2011. The Zips used two separate five-match winning streaks during the season to make sure 2012 did not see repeat results, finishing third in their division and earning the fifth seed overall in the conference tournament.
SHUT OUT STATUS
Akron has issued nine shutouts over the course of the regular season, including three out of its last five victories. This is the second time during his five-year tenure at Akron that head coach Ron Arenz has led his team to nine shut outs, blanking the same number of opponents in 2010.
KILLING IT IN THREE
Alex Cocklin's match-high 18 kills in Akron's 3-0 win over Kent State last weekend marked the most kills recorded by a Zip in a three set match this season. She was just one short of her career-high of 19, set earlier this year against Northern Kentucky.
DIMITRIJEVS EARNS FIRST TEAM ALL-MAC
Redshirt senior Tina Dimitrijevs was named First Team All Mid-American Conference for her efforts this season. This is the third time in her career Dimitrijevs has earned postseason honors - she landed a spot on the All-MAC Freshman squad in 2008 and earned Second Team accolades as a junior in 2010. Dimitrijevs led the offensive charge for the Zips this year, appearing in every set and surpassing 1,000 kills for her career. She was also named MAC East Offensive Player of the Week twice as well as MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week.
HOW CAN I ASSIST YOU?
Zips setter Morgan Kuhn has now recorded 3,118 career assists, moving her into sixth place all time in the program's record books. She has helped Akron out-do its conference opponents in the assists category with 12.4 per set compared to the competition's 11.5.
FAMILIAR FACE
Chelsea Harvey has been a staple in the Akron lineup for the past four seasons. Logging time as a defensive specialist and outside hitter, Harvey has appeared in every match for the Zips over the course of her career.
FIRST SET SETS THE TONE
More often than not, the way Akron plays in the opening set of a match is a decent indicator of how the rest of the match will unfold. The Zips are now an impressive 14-1this year when they win the first set, and have only gone on to win two matches after dropping the opening period.
WHERE THEY STAND
Although anything can happen at tournament time, UA enters the opening match in the top half of the league in six out of the seven major statistical categories in the conference overall. The Zips are second in service aces (1.27), third in kills (13.61), fourth in hitting percentage (.218), assists (12.74), fifth in opponent hitting percentage (.192) and sixth in blocks (2.01). In conference matches alone, Akron holds its opponents to a .175 hitting percentage, the third-best mark in the league.
Tina Dimitrijevs has led the MAC in overall hitting percentage for the entire season at .357, and is third against conference opponents behind NIU's Sarah Angelos. Morgan Kuhn moved up to the fourth slot with a 10.50 assists per set average. Defensively, Jill Paluch is ninth in the league in digs, averaging 4.28 per set.
MAC RPI
The Mid-American Conference is a tough group to hang with, as proven by the weekly NCAA RPI rankings. Four MAC schools boast RPI's inside the top-100 in the country (out of 330 Division I teams). Ohio leads the conference at 60, followed by Western Michigan at 69 and Bowling Green at 71. Eastern Michigan sits at 95. Entering conference tournament play, Akron holds an RPI of 167.
TOP 100
The NCAA released the national ranking summary this week, for matches through Nov. 11. There are several categories in which the Zips fall into the Top 100 across the country:
As a TEAM...
» Assists Per Set: 67th out of 328 at 12.74 (Leader: Oregon, 14.64)
» Kills Per Set: 72nd out of 328 at 13.61 (Leader: Oregon, 15.69)
INDIVIDUALLY...
» Assists Per Set: Morgan Kuhn, 69th out of 250 at 10.50
» Hitting Percentage: Tina Dimitrijevs, 58th out of 250 at .357
