The University of Akron Athletics

Akron Opens Zips Invitational With 3-1 Win Over Youngstown State
September 14 | Women's Volleyball
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Box Score (PDF)
AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron volleyball team picked up a 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-14) win over Youngstown State on Friday night at James A. Rhodes Arena to open up the Zips Invitational.
Akron improved to 7-3, while Youngstown State fell to 6-6.
Akron was led by Ashley Richardson (Doylestown, Ohio) with 14 kills on an impressive .667 hitting percentage. Senior Kayla Gwozdz (Temperance, Mich.) recorded 12 kills, while sophomore Shelby Fulmer (Perrysburg, Ohio) added 11. Senior defensive specialist Abbey Pawlak (Sylvania, Ohio) added to the offensive efforts, tallying four service aces. Setter Emily Weigand (Burton, Ohio) recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 32 assists and 17 digs.
Defensively, sophomore Taylor Sharrits (Concord, Ohio) had a team-high 23 digs while freshman middle blocker Hannah Yaconis (Batavia, Ill.) and sophomore left side hitter Alexis Adleta (West Chester, Ohio) recorded three and two blocks, respectively.
The Penguins set out on an early 10-3 lead to start out the match. Youngstown State increased its lead to ten points when a 10-3 run by Akron cut the lead to three points. The Zips were trailing 24-21 when two Penguin errors made it 24-23. A kill by Youngstown State's Sarah Varcolla gave the Penguins a 25-23 first set win.
The second set started off back and forth with the score sitting tied at 7-all. The Penguins were the first to gain a significant lead, scoring five of the next seven points to pull ahead 12-9. Akron came back to tie the set again, 15-15, when kills from Richardson and Fulmer in addition to three Penguin errors gave the Zips a 20-17 advantage. Akron led for the remainder of the set, while consecutive Fulmer kills and one more from Richardson sealed the second set at 25-20.
Fulmer recorded seven kills in the second set alone.
After exchanging points to start the third, Akron gained an 8-7 edge. The Zips score 11 of the next 14 points to extend its lead to 19-10. Youngstown was unable to overcome the deficit, resulting in a 25-16 third set win for Akron.
The fourth set was tied at 13-13, but the Zips went on to score 11 unanswered points, including three kills from freshman Teagan Ochaya (Mentor, Ohio). A kill by sophomore Elya Karsner (Frankfort, Ky.) would clinch a 25-14 fourth set win.
Akron hit .273 on the night compared to Youngstown State at .145.
The Zips will close out the Zips Invitational and non-conference play on Saturday as they take on Bucknell at 5 p.m.
Box Score (PDF)
AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron volleyball team picked up a 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-14) win over Youngstown State on Friday night at James A. Rhodes Arena to open up the Zips Invitational.
Akron improved to 7-3, while Youngstown State fell to 6-6.
Akron was led by Ashley Richardson (Doylestown, Ohio) with 14 kills on an impressive .667 hitting percentage. Senior Kayla Gwozdz (Temperance, Mich.) recorded 12 kills, while sophomore Shelby Fulmer (Perrysburg, Ohio) added 11. Senior defensive specialist Abbey Pawlak (Sylvania, Ohio) added to the offensive efforts, tallying four service aces. Setter Emily Weigand (Burton, Ohio) recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 32 assists and 17 digs.
Defensively, sophomore Taylor Sharrits (Concord, Ohio) had a team-high 23 digs while freshman middle blocker Hannah Yaconis (Batavia, Ill.) and sophomore left side hitter Alexis Adleta (West Chester, Ohio) recorded three and two blocks, respectively.
The Penguins set out on an early 10-3 lead to start out the match. Youngstown State increased its lead to ten points when a 10-3 run by Akron cut the lead to three points. The Zips were trailing 24-21 when two Penguin errors made it 24-23. A kill by Youngstown State's Sarah Varcolla gave the Penguins a 25-23 first set win.
The second set started off back and forth with the score sitting tied at 7-all. The Penguins were the first to gain a significant lead, scoring five of the next seven points to pull ahead 12-9. Akron came back to tie the set again, 15-15, when kills from Richardson and Fulmer in addition to three Penguin errors gave the Zips a 20-17 advantage. Akron led for the remainder of the set, while consecutive Fulmer kills and one more from Richardson sealed the second set at 25-20.
Fulmer recorded seven kills in the second set alone.
After exchanging points to start the third, Akron gained an 8-7 edge. The Zips score 11 of the next 14 points to extend its lead to 19-10. Youngstown was unable to overcome the deficit, resulting in a 25-16 third set win for Akron.
The fourth set was tied at 13-13, but the Zips went on to score 11 unanswered points, including three kills from freshman Teagan Ochaya (Mentor, Ohio). A kill by sophomore Elya Karsner (Frankfort, Ky.) would clinch a 25-14 fourth set win.
Akron hit .273 on the night compared to Youngstown State at .145.
The Zips will close out the Zips Invitational and non-conference play on Saturday as they take on Bucknell at 5 p.m.
Team Stats
YSU
AKR
Kills
46
55
Errors
24
13
Attempts
152
154
Hitting %
.145
.273
Points
52.0
70.0
Assists
40
53
Aces
3
10
Blocks
3.0
5.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Players Mentioned
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