Akron Falls to Kent State in Crystal Clinic Wagon Wheel Challenge Showdown, 3-2

Friday, September 28

Kent, OH

6 PM

University of Akron

8-6, 0-3MAC

Kent State

8-9, 1-2MAC

Akron

Kent State

Akron Falls to Kent State in Crystal Clinic Wagon Wheel Challenge Showdown, 3-2

September 28 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

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BOX SCORE (PDF)

KENT, Ohio – The University of Akron volleyball team dropped a five-set thriller to Kent State (25-27, 32-30, 25-17, 18-25, 12-15), Friday night at the M.A.C. Center in the first meeting of the Crystal Clinic Wagon Wheel Challenge.

The Zips fell to 8-6 overall and 0-3 in Mid-American Conference play, while the Golden Flashes improved to 8-9, 1-2 MAC.

"We certainly did a lot of good things tonight," said head coach Tom Hanna. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to sustain our level of play down in the fourth and after the turn in the fifth. We own that and will look to tighten things up tomorrow."

Senior Kayla Gwozdz (Temperance, Mich.) led the way for Akron with a season-high 20 kills on a season-best hitting clip of .300. Sophomores Shelby Fulmer (Perrysburg, Ohio) and Alexis Adleta (West Chester, Ohio) added 12 and nine kills, respectively. Freshman Megan Kelly (Lakewood, Ill.) posted new career highs of two service aces and three blocks.

Sophomore setter Emily Weigand (Burton, Ohio) recorded her fifth double-double this season on 34 assists and 18 digs. Sophomore Taylor Sharrits (Concord, Ohio) led the back-row defense with 31 digs. Sharitts was error free in service receptions on 16 attempts.

As a team, the Zips hit .171 compared to the Golden Flashes at .180.

Neither team could gain more than a two-point lead to start out the first set. The Zips were trailing 11-10 when a kill by freshman Teagan Ochaya (Mentor, Ohio) in addition to a couple of Kent State errors gave Akron a slight advantage. The Golden Flashes would quickly come back to tie the score at 25-25. A service ace and a kill by Kathryn Ellison would give Kent State a first set win at 27-25.

The Zips trailed 4-1 early into the second set when kills from Adleta and Fulmer highlighted a 5-0 run to gain a 6-4 edge over the Golden Flashes. The score saw 10 ties before it sat at 17-all. A Weigand service ace sparked a 4-0 run to set the Zips ahead 21-17. A couple of short runs later and the score sat tied once again at 25-25. The two teams battled back and forth until they reached a tie at 30. A kill by Adleta and a Sharrits service ace would give the Zips a 32-30 second set victory to tie the match at 1-1.

Akron carried its momentum into the third set as they led for the entirety of the set. The Zips held an 18-16 advantage late into the set. Akron outscored the Golden Flashes 8-2 in the final points of the third set to seal it at 25-17. The final run saw three kills from Gwozdz.

Three back-to-back kills by Gwozdz would give the Zips an early 4-1 lead to begin the fourth set. The Golden Flashes would answer with a 3-0 run of their own to tie the score at 4-all. From there the teams would quickly fall into the same pattern as the previous sets, with neither team being able to gain a significant lead. Kent State held a 14-12 edge when they scored five in a row to increase its lead to 19-12. Despite a late run, the Zips were unable to come back and Kent State tied the match at 2-2 with a 25-18 fourth set win.

Two points from Kelly, a kill by Gwozdz and several attacking errors by Kent State gave the Zips an 8-4 lead in the fifth set. Kent State scored four unanswered points to tie the set, 8-8. Akron would add four more kills throughout the remainder of the set, but it wasn't enough as Kent State sealed the match with a 15-12 fifth set win.

The Zips continue their two-game road swing on Saturday as they travel to Athens, Ohio to take on the Ohio Bobcats at 6 p.m.