Zips Outlast Central Michigan, 3-2

Friday, October 19

Akron, OH

7 PM

University of Akron

11-9, 3-6MAC

Central Michigan

3-18, 0-9MAC

Central Michigan

Akron

October 19 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

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BOX SCORE (PDF)

AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron volleyball team defeated Central Michigan in a back-and-forth, five-set (23-25, 31-29, 14-25, 25-13, 15-11) Mid-American Conference contest on Friday night at James A. Rhodes Arena.

After its third straight MAC win at home, Akron improved to 11-9 overall and 3-6 in MAC play, while Central Michigan fell to 3-18, 0-9 MAC.

Senior Kayla Gwozdz (Temperance, Mich.) paced the Zips with 18 kills, while junior Ashley Richardson (Doylestown, Ohio) and freshman Teagan Ochaya (Mentor, Ohio) posted 15 and nine kills, respectively. Richardson held a team-best hitting clip of .394. Sophomore setter Emily Weigand (Burton, Ohio) dished out a career-best 57 assists. She also recorded nine digs, two blocks and one service ace on the night.

Sophomore Taylor Sharrits (Concord, Ohio) had 27 digs, while also being error free on 14 reception attempts. Freshman Megan Kelly (Lakewood, Ill.) led the Zips with a career-high six blocks.

As a team, Akron recorded a hitting clip of .206, while the Chippewas hit .203.

The Zips got off to an early 4-1 lead in the first set thanks to kills by Weigand and Richardson, but a 5-0 run gave the Chippewas a 6-4 edge. The teams traded leads until Central Michigan pulled ahead, 23-19. The Zips had a late 3-point run but it wasn't enough, as CMU took the opening set, 25-23.

The Chippewas held a 16-13 advantage midway through the second set when a 6-1 run gave the Zips a 19-17 edge. The teams battled back-and-forth throughout the remainder of the set until it sat tied at 25-all. Eventually, consecutive kills from Weigand and Gwozdz sealed a 31-29 second set victory for Akron.

The Zips were trailing Central Michigan, 15-5, in the third set when Akron called a timeout. The Chippewas only outscored the Zips 10-9 for the remainder of the set, but Akron was unable to overcome the deficit, leading to a 24-14 win in the third set for CMU.

A 12-10 advantage was held by the Zips in the fourth when they went on to score six unanswered points to increase their lead to 18-10. The run was highlighted by two kills from Gwozdz and a service ace by Richardson. Akron outscored the Chippewas 7-3 throughout the rest of the set, winning the fourth, 25-13, to force a fifth set.

The final set sat tied at 3-all, when several short runs would give the Zips a 12-6 lead. Central Michigan was unable to come back, and the Zips capped the match off with a 15-11 win in the fifth set.

Akron is back on Saturday, Oct. 20, as it hosts Eastern Michigan and 5 p.m.