Akron Volleyball to face Buffalo in First Round of Mid-American Conference Championship

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Championship Central

AKRON, Ohio – Akron volleyball finished as the No. 6 seed during regular-season play, and will be taking on No. 7 Buffalo in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Championship on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. This marks the Zips' first appearance in the MAC Championship since 2012.

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ABOUT THE ZIPS
The Zips, under the direction of fifth-year head coach Tom Hanna, finished the regular season with a 16-11 (9-7 MAC) this season. The Zips are coming off an 0-2 weekend in the final weekend of conference play, falling to rival Kent State in straight sets, (25-16, 25-21, 26-24), before dropping a four-set match to Ohio, (21-25, 29-27, 25-21, 25-21).

Junior Alexis Adleta (West Chester, Ohio) leads the Zips on offense with 284 kills (2.84 per set. Senior Ashley Richardson (Doylestown, Ohio) is right behind her with 279 kills, leading the team in hitting percentage (.331) and blocks (108).

Junior setter Emily Weigand (Burton, Ohio) leads the team in assists with 1,037 (10.37 per set, second in the MAC). Defensive specialist Taylor Sharrits (Concord, Ohio) paces the back-row defense with 460 digs (4.65 per set).

AKRON QUICK HITS

Akron finished the sixth in the MAC at 16-11 (9-7 MAC)
This is the first MAC Championship appearance since 2012.
As a team, Akron is ranked 60^thin the nation in aces per set (1.55).
Weigand currently ranks second in both assists per set (10.37) and in service aces per set (.47) in the MAC.
In the MAC, Akron ranks first in service aces per set (1.54), third in opponent hitting percentage (.183), third in opponent assists per set (11.04), and third in opponent kills per set (12.20).
The Zips have earned three MAC East Player of the Week honors this season (Ashley Richardson, Taylor Sharrits, and Emily Weigand).
Akron is currently 7-4 at home and 7-4 on the road this season.
The Zips have a hitting percentage of .210 this season, while holding its opponents to a hitting clip of just .183.
Sharrits has eclipsed nine or more digs in 26 of the Zips' 27 matches this season.
Junior Emily Weigand earned her 1000^thassist on the season this past weekend against Ohio.
The Zips' roster consists of 12 returners and three newcomers.

SCOUTING BUFFALO

The Bulls, under first-year head coach Scott Smith, concluded the regular season at 12-16 (8-8 MAC) on the season. In the final weekend of conference play, they fell to Ohio in straight sets (25-22, 26-24, 25-23), before defeating Kent State, 3-2 (25-22, 28-30, 22-25, 25-23, 15-11).

Offensively, the Bulls are led by seniors Rachel Sanks and Polina Prokudina, who currently have 352 and 344 kills, respectively. Senior setter Scout McLerran leads the team with 996 assists (9.14 per set).

Defensively, sophomore libero Paige Beck leads the way with 425 digs (3.76per set), while junior Lexi Nordmann leads the team in blocks with 92.

SERIES VS. BUFFALO

Akron leads the all-time series over Buffalo, 30-17. The two teams had two five-set battles earlier this season. In the first meeting between the two teams, the Zips were able to come out on top (25-19, 25-15, 27-29, 24-26, 15-10). In the second meeting, the Bulls were able to best the Zips (30-28, 22-25, 25-22, 24-26, 15-9).

The winner of the match will go on to face Bowling Green on Friday, Nov. 22, time is TBA.

The University of Akron Athletics

Akron Volleyball to face Buffalo in First Round of Mid-American Conference Championship

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Players Mentioned

Alexis Adleta

Ashley Richardson

Taylor Sharrits

Emily Weigand

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