Zips Ready for Road Matches with CMU and EMU

AKRON, Ohio- The Akron volleyball team (10-13, 4-7) MAC will hit the road to face Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan. The Zips will face CMU on Friday, Oct. 29 at 6 p.m. at the McGuirk Arena, followed by taking on EMU on Saturday, Oct. 30 at 3 p.m.

GAME COVERAGE
Akron at CMU| Friday, Oct. 29 |6 PM
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3Gvgrhk
Watch: https://es.pn/3mjHP9T

Akron vs. EMU | Saturday, Oct. 30 |3 PM
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3mofNu3
ESPN3: https://es.pn/3mmokNU

ABOUT THE ZIPS
The Akron Zips volleyball team, under the direction of sixth-year head coach Tom Hanna, stand 10-13 overall and 4-7 in conference play after splitting its series with Ohio last weekend 2-3 and 3-0.

Offensively, the Zips are led by a pair of heavy hitters in seniors Teagan Ochaya (Mentor, Ohio) and Alexis Adleta (West Chester, Ohio) with 233 kills (2.84 per set) and 225 kills (2.78 per set), respectively. Senior Megan Kelly (Lakewood, Ill.) and sophomore Faith Johnson (Naperville, Ill.) follow with 167 and 143 total kills. Setter Emily Weigand (Burton, Ohio) leads the team with 810 assists (9.10 per set). Weigand eads the squad with a team-best 25 service aces.

Defensively, the Zips have a duo of players with over 100 digs in senior Taylor Sharrits (Concord, Ohio) with 370 digs, and Weigand with 214. Above the net, freshman Karleighana Jones (White Plains, N.Y.) has a team-high 70 blocks.

SCOUTING CENTRAL MICHIGAN
The Chippewas, under 6th-year head coach Mike Gawlik currently sit at 9-14 overall and 3-8 in conference play after falling to Miami (OH), 3-1.

Offensively, the Chippewas are led by Savannah Thompson with 287 kills, followed by 214 from Linnea Willer. Aly Gurtiza has 388 digs to pace CMU, followed by 349 from Thompson.

Defensively, the Chippewas are led by Aly Gurtiza with 388 digs (5.32 digs per set). Above the net, CMU is led by Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez with 66 blocks.

SERIES VS. CMU
Central Michigan leads the all-time series over Akron, 23-14. Last season, the Chippewas defeated Akron 3-1 and 3-2.

SCOUTING EATERN MICHIGAN
The Eagles, under 3rd-year head coach Darcy Dorton, stand 8-14 overall and 3-8 in league play after falling 3-1 to Bowling Green last weekend.

Eastern Michigan ranks fourth in the Mid-American Conference averaging 2.30 blocks per set, and fifth in aces with 1.37. Individually, redshirt sophomore Raeven Chase leads the conference averaging 1.25 blocks per set (104 total) which is good for 47th in the NCAA. Additionally, her total blocks rank 12th in the nation. Chase also ranks third in the league with a .350 hitting percentage (218-57-460). Sophomore Kamryn Stillwell is fifth averaging 4.55 digs per set. She has tallied 378 total digs this season, which is good for second in the MAC and 37th in the NCAA. Classmate Jayden Otto is averaging 9.83 assists per set, which is good for seventh in the conference, while sophomore Samantha Basham is ninth averaging 3.21 kills per set. Additionally, Basham and Chase are eighth and 10th averaging 3.60 and 3.46 points per set, respectively.

SERIES VS. EMU
Saturday's match between the Eagles and Zips will be the 43rd meeting in program history. Akron holds a 22-20 all-time series advantage. The Eagles split with the Zips during the 2021 spring season.

UP NEXT
Akron will host Northern Illinois for a series next weekend. The Zips and Huskies will face off on Friday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m., before closing out the series on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 5 p.m. at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Alexis Adleta

Faith Johnson

Karleighana Jones

Megan Kelly

Teagan Ochaya

Taylor Sharrits

Emily Weigand

The University of Akron Athletics