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Volleyball Falls to Eastern Kentucky, Youngstown State in Tournament Finale
September 10 | Women's Volleyball
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Final Stats vs. Eastern Kentucky | Final Stats vs. Youngstown State
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Game Highlights Eastern Kentucky | Game Highlights Youngstown State
AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron volleyball team dropped both matches of its Akron Invitational doubleheader Saturday, Sept. 10, falling to Eastern Kentucky, 3-1, and Youngstown State, 3-0 at James A. Rhodes Arena.
The Zips finished their non-conference tournament with a 1-2 record and a 3-6 overall mark through the first three weeks of competition.
UA fell to Eastern Kentucky in their early session in a tight four-set match (25-23, 18-25, 21-25, 18-25), and were not able to rebound in a straight-set decision against Youngstown State in the tournament finale (17-25, 18-25, 15-25).
Sophomore Patience Brown (Bloomington, Ill.) continued her offensive prowess for Akron on day two, totaling 22 kills and averaging 3.14 per set over the course of the two matches. Classmate Madi Baer (Stow, Ohio) provided a boost from the right side as well, posting 2.43 kills per set.
The offense ran through senior Karley Kusan (Columbus, Ohio) once again, as the setter dished out 9.43 assists per set while contributing 3.29 digs per set on the day. Junior Aubrey Kozer (Norton, Ohio) chipped in 23 total digs (3.29 d/s) while senior Amanda Bedell (Hudson, Ohio) added 15 kills (2.50 k/s).
Furthermore, Brown was named to the All-Tournament Team for her weekend performances.
UA came out strong in the first set against EKU, and was able to keep the Colonels under control early. Eastern Kentucky tied the score four times before Akron was able to create a little distance with an 18-13 lead after an EKU error. Akron slipped back when Eastern took six consecutive points to go up 19-18. The score tied five more times before a winner was decided as both teams strung together a point at a time. Akron found itself at set point at 24-23 after a kill by Gwozdz while Bedell put down a kill on the next play to seal the final point and the set.
Akron took another early lead in the second set, however, the Colonels rattled off five straight points to take the advantage. With the score tied 10-all, Eastern used a 9-3 run to extend its lead. Four uninterrupted points by the Zips brought Akron back within two but it was not enough as Eastern tied the match 1-1.
Late in the third set, with Eastern two points away from claiming the win, the Zips scored a pair of points to put up a strong comeback effort before the Colonels preserved the third stanza at 25-19. The final set was another back-and-forth affair that went in favor of the visitors down the stretch as EKU captured the last four points to declare the match.
Youngstown State took a commanding 13-5 lead to open the first set which results in an Akron timeout. The Zips attempted to fight back but came up short, 25-17. No lead was safe in the beginning of the second set as the score tied a total of five times until YSU was able to catch a 12-8 advantage. A difference of two points was the closest Akron would come in that set as the Penguins earned a 25-18 victory.
Akron's largest lead of set three grew no larger than one point before Youngstown managed to score seven straight. A kill by Bedell halted the run but Akron would come no closer as YSU grabbed a 25-15 final set.
The Zips will return to the court on Friday, Sept. 16, when they travel to Morgantown, W. Va. for the West Virginia Invitational, with three matches against Dartmouth, West Virginia and Wintrhop.
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