Akron Volleyball Falls in Four to First-Place Miami

Friday, November 8

Akron, Ohio

7 PM

University of Akron

16-8,9-4MAC

Miami (OH)

16-8,11-2MAC

Miami (OH)

Akron

Photo by: Ernie Aranyosi

Akron Volleyball Falls in Four to First-Place Miami

November 08 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

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Box Score (PDF)

AKRON, Ohio – Akron volleyball fell to Miami, 3-1 (25-21, 25-18, 20-25, 25-23) Friday night at James A. Rhodes Arena.

With the loss, Akron falls to 16-8 (9-4 MAC), while the RedHawks improve to 16-8 (11-2 MAC).

"It was a tough match to lose as we were just hitting our stride in the back half of the match. Unfortunately, we didn't play cleaner in the beginning of the match where we might have had an opportunity to gain the upper hand. We have to own that and come out playing cleaner tomorrow" said head coach Tom Hanna.

Leading the way offensively were seniors Elya Karsner (Frankfort, Ky.), Ashley Richardson (Doylestown, Ohio), and junior Alexis Adleta (West Chester, Ohio), who finished with 12 kills a-piece. Junior setter Emily Weigand (Burton, Ohio) dished out 50 assists while adding 8 digs.

Defensively, junior libero Taylor Sharrits (Concord, Ohio) paced the back row with 21 digs. Also contributing were Karsner and sophomore Teagan Ochaya (Mentor, Ohio) who totaled 11 and 9 digs, respectively.

The Zips began the match strong, with two consecutive aces by Sharrits followed by a kill by junior Shelby Fulmer (Perrysburg, Ohio) to give Akron an early 3-0 lead. Miami would respond by scoring three of its own, tying the match. Later in the set with the score tied at 17, the RedHawks were able to rattle off four of the next six points, propelling them to a first-set victory, 25-21.

Miami gained an early 6-2 lead over Akron in the second set, until the Zips were able to fight back and tie the set at 11. A service error by the RedHawks decreased Akron's then deficit to 18-16 until a four-point run by Miami gave it the lead, 22-16. The Zips went on to drop the second set, 25-16.

Akron struggled early in the third set, finding itself down 8-4. Later in the set, down 11-8, the Zips' offense began to find its groove, taking eight of the next 11 points, putting them ahead 16-13. Another four-point run later in the set, thanks to three errors and a kill by Richardson, put Akron ahead, 20-15. The Zips were able to maintain their lead for the remainder of the set, coming out on top, 25-20.

Akron found itself down 13-9 at the midpoint of the fourth set, until four of five victorious points decreased the deficit to one, 14-13. The two teams would trade each of the next 20 points, eventually leading to a 23-23 tie. Miami would take the final two points, and ultimately take the match, 3-1.

The Zips return to James A. Rhodes Arena Saturday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m., as they will be celebrating "Senior Night", honoring seniors Elya Karsner and Ashley Richardson. The ceremony is set to begin at the conclusion of the match.