Zips Fall to Fort Wayne in 3-1 Decision - University of Akron Athletics

Friday, September 8

Youngstown, OH

7 p.m.

University of Akron

2-5

Fort Wayne

5-5

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Akron	18	19	25	14	1
Fort Wayne	25	25	22	25	3

Game Notes (PDF)Boxscore (PDF)

September 08 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

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Box Score (PDF)

Zips Fall to Fort Wayne in 3-1 Decision

AKRON, Ohio- The Akron Zips volleyball dropped a 3-1 (18-25, 19-25, 25-22, 14-25) decision on the opening day of the Courtyard Marriott-Canfield Penguin Invitational on Friday, at Youngstown State.

The Zips fell to 2-5 overall on the season, while the Mastodons improved to 5-5 overall.

Junior Kayla Gwozdz (Temperance, Mich.) posted a team-high 14 kills on 39 attempts for a .177 hitting percentage, while also contributing eight digs and two service aces. Senior middle blocker Jessica Kloehn (Milwaukee, Wis.) followed behind connecting on seven kills for a .176 hitting percentage.

The Zips' defense was led by a nine-dig performance from freshman Taylor Sharrits (Concord, Ohio). The team also secured the net tallying a total of 16 block assists to the Mastodon's 12.

As a team, UA hit .143 to Fort Wayne's .317, and recorded seven service aces to the Mastodons' six.

In the first set, the two teams began the match locked point-for-point recording five ties. A kill by Gwozdz gave the Zips their only lead of the game, which made it 8-7. UA was able to tie the score three more times keeping within striking distance of Fort Wayne. At the 16-all mark, Fort Wayne exploded and went on a 9-2 run of its own to complete the first-set victory, 25-18.

The Mastodon's offensive momentum continued into set number two, but the Zips continued to rally evening the score 11 times. Akron took an early lead at 8-7 off a kill from Emily Weigand (Burton, Ohio). The Mastodons used a 4-2 run which gave it a 13-15 edge over the Zips, but Akron answered back with a 5-3 run of its own only trailing Fort Wayne by one, 19-18. The Mastodons ended the set on a 6-2 run, taking set two, 25-19.

In the third frame, the Zips' offense sparked and was able to get off to a 13-8 lead. Akron kept a comfortable edge over Fort Wayne until the Mastodons went on a 8-3 of their own, which tied the set at 16. UA was able to pull away with the help of three Fort Wayne errors, giving it a 24-20 lead. A bad set by Fort Wayne's Madison Jaqua, garnered the Zips their first set win of the match, 25-22. Akron out-hit Fort Wayne .355 to .294. only committing three errors to the Mastodon's five.

The Mastodon's weren't threatened by the Zips third-set surge, as they controlled the majority of the fourth and final set of the match. Fort Wayne started off the fourth set with an early 13-8 lead.

A kill from Gwodz brought the Zips within three points, 13-10, but the Mastodons continued their offensive scoring displayed in the first two sets. Fort Wayne took the fourth set, 25-14 and secured the victory.

Action continues tomorrow as the Zips take on tournament host Youngstown State at 11 a.m., followed by closing out tournament play against St. Francis (Pa.) at 4:30 p.m.