The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Buffalo
Zips Travel to Buffalo For Midweek #MACtion
October 27 | Women's Volleyball
AKRON, Ohio - The Akron volleyball team travels to Buffalo, N.Y., to battle the Bulls on Tuesday, October 28, for a midweek conference match at 6 p.m.
How To Follow The Action
Tuesday: Stats | Video
Stat Leaders
Akron: Kills: Delaney Gash (324) | Assists: Martina Villani (864) | Points: Delaney Gash (351) | Aces: Vanessa Del Real (37) | Digs: Vanessa Del Real (332) | Blocks: Chidera Ozoh (97)
Buffalo: Kills: Emerson Matthews (244) | Assists: Maddie Mitchell (607) | Points: Emerson Matthews (286.5) | Aces: Eve Adams (24)Â | Digs: Keira Kleidon (266) | Blocks: Tehya Shaw (43)
A Look At The Series
Buffalo: Akron Leads 31-28 | Norton vs Buffalo: 0-7
First Played: Nov. 7, 1992 (Akron 3, Buffalo 1)
Last Played: Oct. 7, 2025 (Akron, 2, Buffalo 3)
Akron and Buffalo will battle for the 60th time in the all-time series. Akron leads the series 31-28 while the Bulls have taken eight straight from the Zips, with the last Akron victory coming on Oct. 13, 2021. Akron fell to Buffalo earlier this season, with the Bulls coming away with a 3-2 victory at James A. Rhodes Arena. The Zips began the series with 16 consecutive victories over the Bulls before UB won the next four.
Last Time Out
AKRON, Ohio (10/25) - The Akron volleyball team took down the Northern Illinois Huskies in four sets (28-26, 20-25, 25-20, 25-17) Saturday at James A Rhodes Arena.
The Zips rattled off nine aces, led by three from Lyndi Wolf, while Vanessa Del Real, Martina Villani and Reilly Chausse each had two.Â
The Blue and Gold's offense, which featured three Zips in double-figure kills, was paced by Delaney Gash, who finished with 15 kills on the day. Gabby Brissett added 14 with a hitting percentage of .462, while Lyndi Wolf chipped in with 13 to go with a .522 hitting percentage. Defensively, Akron had two players reach double figures in digs as Vanessa Del Real had 21 and Jaryn Morgan had 10. From the front row, Chidera Ozoh contributed eight blocks and Wolf added six rejections. Villani added 46 assists to bolster the Zips' offense.
AKRON, Ohio (10/24) - Gabby Brissett notched 15 kills with a .519 attack percentage while Delaney Gash notched 21 kills to help propel the Akron volleyball team to a five-set win (25-20, 19-25, 25-18, 14-25, 15-9) over the Northern Illinois Huskies Friday at James A Rhodes Arena.
The Zips attack was paced by Gash, who finished with 21 kills, her sixth 20+ kill performance of the season, and by Brissett, who tied her career-high of 15 kills while hitting .519. Akron got 26 digs from Vanessa Del Real, which was three off of her career-high, along with five blocks from Chidera Ozoh to lead them defensively. Martina Villani supplied 51 assists against the Huskies, her sixth 50+ assist performance of the season. Jaryn Morgan notched a career-high three aces in the win as well.
Zips At AÂ Glance
The Zips head to Buffalo with an 11-11 overall record and a 4-7 record in the MAC.
Akron recently swept Northern Illinois at James A. Rhodes Arena over the weekend, defeating the Huskies 3-1 and 3-2.
Delaney Gash led the offense with 36 kills against the Huskies, while Gabby Brissett added 29 and Lyndi Wolf notched 21. Brissett also added a .491 hitting percentage and seven blocks, while Wolf recorded a .371 hitting percentage, four aces and seven blocks. Martina Villani recorded 97 assists (10.78 per set) while adding three aces and five blocks against the Huskies. Vanessa Del Real recorded 47 digs (5.22 per set) and two aces, while Chidera Ozoh led the Zips in blocks with 13.
So far this season, Gash leads the Zips in kills (324) and points (351). Villani is the leader in assists (864) while Del Real leads the way in digs (332) and aces (37). Ozoh is the leader for total blocks (97).
After Buffalo, the Zips return to James A. Rhodes Arena to host Eastern Michigan on October 31 and November 1.
Scouting Report
Buffalo: The Bulls enter the week with a 7-13 overall record and a 4-7 record in the MAC. This will be the second meeting between the two schools, with the Bulls taking the first meeting 3-2 at the JAR.
Buffalo recently split a two-game series with Eastern Michigan last week, taking a 3-0 victory in game one before falling 3-2 to conclude action.
After hosting Akron, Buffalo will depart for DeKalb, Ill., to battle the Huskies for a pair of conference matches on October 31 and November 1.
So far this season, Emerson Matthews and Manoela Forlina lead the Bulls in kills (244) while Matthews leads the Bulls in points (286.5). Maddie Mitchell is the leader in assists (607) while Eve Adams leads the squad in aces (24). Keira Kleidon is the leader in digs (266) and Tehya Shaw is the leader in blocks (43).
Buffalo ranks in the top-five in the MAC in total digs (5th - 1055), digs per set (5th - 14.26), fewest opp assists (2nd - 916), fewest opp assists per set (4th - 12.38), fewest opp. blocks (4th - 2.09) and fewest opp blocks per set (4th - 2.09).Â
Mitchell ranks 7th for total assists (607) and 6th in assists per set (8.55). Forlin and Matthews are tied for 6th for total kills (244) and kills per set (3.44). Kleidon is 4th in digs per set (3.91) and 10th for total digs (266). Matthews is 6th in total points (286.5) and points per set (3.92), while Forlin is 7th in total points (273) and points per set (3.85).
Defensive Player of the Week (10/27/25)
Leading the Zips' defensive efforts that led to a 2-0 week against Northern Illinois, Vanessa Del Real was named the Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday, October 27.
Del Real notched 47 digs (5.22 per set) as the Blue and Gold claimed a pair of wins over NIU. She started the week with 26 digs, one kill and four assists on Friday, while adding 21 digs, five assists and two aces on Saturday.
Del Real currently ranks 1st in the MAC for total aces (37), 2nd in aces per set (.44), 3rd in digs per set (3.05) and 5th in total digs (322).
Milestones To Watch For
- Vanessa Del Real is 309 digs from tying Jennifer Borton (1992-95) for 10th in all-time digs (1,469).
- Del Real is 12 aces away from tying Ashley Lewis (1997-2000) for 10th in all-time aces (136).
- Del Real is 143 assists away from 500 as a Zip.
- Martina Villani is 731 assists from tying Carol Claridge (1987-88) for 10th in all-time assists (1,880).
- Villani is 237 digs away from 500 as a Zips.
- Maureen Mathews is 316 kills away from 1,000 career kills.
- Mathews is 249 points away from 1,000 in her career.
- Reilly Chausse is 128 digs away from 500 as a Zip.
- Delaney Gash is 28 kills away from 500 as a Zip.
- Gash is 231 digs away from 500 as a Zip.
- Chidera Ozoh is 3 blocks away from 100 as a Zip.
- Gabby Brissett is 154 kills away from 500 as a Zip.
- Brissett is 92 kills away from 750 career kills.
- Brissett is 12.5 points away from 750 career points.
- Jordyn Aeschliman is 9 kills away from 100 as a Zips.
Career-Highs (10/24-10/25)
- Gabby Brissett tied her career-high in kills (15, vs NIU 10/24/25)
- Delaney Gash tied her career-high for blocks (4, vs NIU 10/25/25)
- Jaryn Morgan set a career-high for aces (3, vs NIU 10/24/25)
- Lyndi Wolf tied her career-high for digs (4, vs NIU 10/24/25)
Leaders In The MAC
Akron ranks in the top-five in the MAC in total points (3rd - 1505), points per set (2nd - 16.91), hitting % (4th - .212), fewest opp assists (5th - 1020), total assists (3rd - 1095), assists per set (2nd - 12.30), total kills (2nd - 1178), kills per set (2nd - 13.24), aces per set (5th - 1.61), fewest opp digs (5th - 1216) and fewest opp. digs per set (3rd - 13.66).
Individually, the Zips see Lyndi Wolf rank 6th in hitting percentage (.304). Delaney Gash ranks 2nd in total kills (324), 3rd in kills per set (3.81), 3rd in total points (351) and 4th in points per set (4.13). Martina Villani ranks 2nd in total assists (864) and assists per set (9.71). Vanessa Del Real ranks 1st in total aces (37), 2nd in aces per set (.44), 6th in total digs (332) and 3rd in digs per set (3.95). Chidera Ozoh ranks 5th in total blocks (97) and blocks per set (1.09).
Among The Best In The NCAA
The Zips rank 70th in the NCAA in assists per set (12.30), 85th in kills per set (13.24), 13th in total assists (1,095), 12th in total kills (1,178) and 54th in total aces (143).
Individually, Vanessa Del Real ranks 43rd in aces per set (.44), 27th in total aces (37) and 90th in total digs (332). Martina Villani ranks 56th in assists per set (9.71) and 7th in total assists (864). Delaney Gash ranks 97th in kills per set (3.81), 49th in total points (351) and 34th in total kills (324). Chidera Ozoh ranks 41st in total blocks (97).
First Set Success
Akron has taken the first set in 11 matches this season (vs Green Bay, at Cleveland State, vs ETSU, vs Cleveland State, vs Miami (OH), at Ohio, vs Buffalo, at WMU x2, vs NIU x2), and has gone 8-3. The Zips have fallen in the first set 11 times and have gone 3-8 in those matches.
Five-Set Thrillers
The Zips have played in seven 5-set matches in 2025 and are 4-3 in those contests. Akron has defeated Green Bay, American,Western Michigan and Northern Illinois while falling to NC State, Miami (OH) and Buffalo.
What's Next?
Akron returns to James A. Rhodes Arena to host Eastern Michigan on October 31 (6 p.m.) and November 1 (4 p.m.).
Â
