Akron Volleyball Closes Out Regular Season at Buffalo and Ball State

Thursday, November 8

Buffalo, NY

7 PM

University of Akron

Buffalo

Akron Volleyball Closes Out Regular Season at Buffalo and Ball State

November 07 | Women's Volleyball

Follow Akron Volleyball on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter

MATCH NOTES (PDF)

THIS WEEK
The University of Akron volleyball team wraps up its regular season this weekend traveling to face Buffalo on Thursday, Nov. 8, before heading to Muncie, Ind., to take on Ball State, Saturday, Nov. 10. First serve for both matches is set for 7 p.m.

The Zips' contest at Buffalo will be broadcast on ESPN3.

GAME COVERAGE
Akron at Buffalo
Watch on ESPN3
Live Stats

Akron at Ball State
Live Stats

ABOUT THE ZIPS
The Zips are under the direction of fourth-year head coach Tom Hanna, who has a career record of 172-211, including, 33-77 mark at Akron.

Senior Kayla Gwozdz (Temperance, Mich.) leads the Zips' offense with 285 kills, while junior Ashley Richardson (Doylestown, Ohio) and sophomore Alexis Adleta (West Chester, Ohio) have recorded 233 and 175 kills, respectively. Richardson holds team-bests in hitting percentage with .322 and blocks with 66.

Sophomore setter Emily Weigand (Burton, Ohio) is averaging 7.78 assists per set, while also leading the Zips and ranking second in the MAC with 45 service aces. Sophomore defensive specialist Taylor Sharrits (Concord, Ohio) paces the back-row defense with 423 digs.

AKRON QUICK HITS

Akron continues to improve under the guidance of Tom Hanna as its 11 victories are the most wins the Zips have had in a season since 2012 (16-3).
Sophomore setter Emily Weigand is ranked 16th nationally in service aces per set (0.47) and total service aces (45).
As a team, Akron is ranked 86th in the nation in aces per set (1.42) and 84th in total service aces (135).
In the MAC, Akron is ranked third in service aces per set (1.42), fifth in hitting percentage (.202) and sixth in assists (11.59) and kills per set (12.49).
The Zips have earned three MAC East Player of the Week honors this season (Taylor Sharrits, Ashley Richardson and Kayla Gwozdz).
Akron was 7-6 in home matches this season.
The Zips have a hitting percentage of .202, while its opponents hold a hitting clip of .224.
All three of the Zips' conference wins have occurred on their home court.
Gwozdz has posted double-digit kill totals in 17 of the Zips' 25 matches, including season-high 20 kills at Kent State, Sept. 28.
Weigand posted career best 57 set assists against Central Michigan on Oct. 19.
Ashley Richardson recorded her 100th career block at Western Michigan on Oct. 13
Akron is 5-3 in five-set matches and 2-2 in four-set matches.
Defensive specialist Taylor Sharrits has posted double-digit digs in 25 of the last 29 matches she has played in, including a career high of 32 digs in Akron's 3-2 win over Cal State Fullerton earlier this season.
Four freshmen have seen playing time in at least half of Akron's matches this season including Mahogany Vinson (Richton Park, Ill), Megan Kelly (Lakewood, Ill.), Hannah Yaconis (Batavia, Ill.) and Teagan Ochaya (Mentor, Ohio).
The Zips' roster consists of 10 returners and five newcomers.

SCOUTING BUFFALO
The Bulls are now 16-10 overall and 7-6 in MAC play. Last weekend, Buffalo defeated both Kent State and Ohio, 3-0.

Sophomore outside hitter Andrea Mitrovic leads the Bulls and the MAC with 428 kills, averaging 4.37 kills per set. Junior Scout McLerran is averaging 10.10 assists per set, while freshman Paige Beck has accumulated a team-best 28 service aces.

Senior defensive specialist Larra Bickelhaupt is directing the defensive efforts with 399 digs (3.95 per set). A pair of middle blockers in junior Kristina Nieves and senior Megan Wernette lead at the net with 103 and 88 blocks, respectively.

The Bulls are under the guidance of head coach Blair Brown Lipsitz, who has led Buffalo to a 26-60 record in three seasons.

SERIES VS. THE BULLS
Akron leads the all-time series over Buffalo, 29-15. The Zips have gone 1-1 against the Bulls in each of the three seasons under the direction of Hanna. Earlier this season, Akron defeated Buffalo, 3-0 (25-13, 28-26, 25-23), at home. Thursday marks the 45th meeting between the two programs.

SCOUTING BALL STATE
The Cardinals sit atop the West leader-board with an overall mark of 19-8 and a 10-4 MAC record. Ball State is coming off of an 0-2 weekend falling to both Central Michigan, 3-0, and Eastern Michigan, 3-2.

Senior outside hitter Ellie Dunn paces the Cardinals with 369 kills, while junior Sydnee VanBeek has tallied 255 kills. Junior Amber Seaman ranks first in the MAC with 10.36 assists per set and also holds team-best 42 service aces.

On the defensive side of the ball, junior Kate Avila leads with 470 digs, while redshirt senior Meg Starling owns a team-high 111 blocks.

The Cardinals are under the direction of head coach Kelli Miller, who has accumulated a record of 32-29 in two seasons.

SERIES VS. THE CARDINALS
Ball State leads the all time series with Akron, 34-4. A season ago, the Cardinals defeated the Zips, 3-0 (23-25, 23-25, 27-29), in Akron, Ohio. The encounter this weekend will mark the 39th meeting between the two programs.

LAST WEEK
Akron fell in its final pair of home matches to Ohio, 3-1 (18-25, 25-14, 11-25, 24-26), and Kent State, 3-2 (21-25, 25-19, 15-25, 25-15, 12-15).

Against Ohio, Akron was led by the pair of Kayla Gwozdz and Ashley Richardson with 12 kills apiece, while junior Elya Karsner (Frankfort, Ky.) tied her season-best with eight kills. Emily Weigand had a total of 36 assists and also added nine digs on the night. Defensively, sophomore Taylor Kuruzovich (Port Matilda, Pa.) paced the Zips with 10 digs.

In the five-set match versus Kent State, Richardson paced Akron with 14 kills, while Gwozdz and Karsner added 12 apiece. Weigand recorded a double-double on the night with 51 assists and a team-best 15 digs. Senior Abbey Pawlak (Sylvania, Ohio) and Weigand recorded two service aces apiece. Sharrits and Gwozdz added 13 and 10 digs, respectively, to the defensive efforts.