The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Bowling Green
Zips Set to Battle Bowling Green on the Road
November 06 | Women's Volleyball
AKRON, Ohio - Akron looks to keep its winning ways going as the Blue and Gold travel to Bowling Green to battle the Falcons on November 7 and 8 for a pair of conference matches.
How To Follow The Action
Friday: Stats | Video
Saturday: Stats | Video
Stat Leaders
Akron: Kills: Delaney Gash (393) | Assists: Martina Villani (994) | Points: Delaney Gash (425.5) | Aces: Vanessa Del Real (40) | Digs: Vanessa Del Real (402) | Blocks: Chidera Ozoh (108)
Bowling Green: Kills: Avery Hobson (319) | Assists: Amanda Otten (668) | Points: Avery Hobson (360) | Aces: Sydnie Hernandez (28) | Digs: Sydnie Hernandez (388) | Blocks: Helen Wilford (118)
A Look At The Series
Bowling Green: Akron trails 21-49 | Norton vs Bowling Green: 0-5
First Played: 1974 season (Akron 2, Bowling Green 0)
Last Played: Oct 18, 2024 (Akron, 0, Bowling Green 3)
Akron and Bowling Green are set to battle for the 71st and 72nd time in the all-time series. Bowling Green holds a 49-21 advantage over the Zips and has taken the last 10 matches. The Zips were last victorious over the Falcons on Oct. 4, 2019, when the Blue and Gold took a 3-1 victory in Bowling Green.
Last Time Out (10/31-11/1)
AKRON, Ohio (11/1) - The Akron volleyball team walked away with a three-set victory (25-19, 26-24, 25-15) over the Eastern Michigan Eagles Saturday at James A Rhodes Arena.
Delaney Gash finished with 17 kills on the day to lead the Zips offense while finishing with a hitting percentage of .280. Maureen Mathews and Lyndi Wolf added seven kills each while Wolf led the squad with three aces. Defensively, Akron had two players reach double figures in digs as Vanessa Del Real had 22 and Martina Villani recorded a double-double with 36 assists and 12 digs. Chidera Ozoh led the Blue and Gold with four blocks while Gabby Brissett followed close behind with three.
AKRON, Ohio (10/31) - Vanessa Del Real, Delaney Gash and Gabby Brissett all recorded career-highs, as the Akron volleyball team defeated the Eastern Michigan Eagles 3-2 (25-21,25-21,22-25,21-25,15-6) Friday at James A Rhodes Arena.
Gash set a new career-high in kills with 28, Del Real set a personal best in digs with 37 while Brissett set a career-high in kills with 16.
The Zips were led by a double-double from Gash, who registered 28 kills and 12 digs. Brissett followed 16 kills while Lyndi Wolf added 10. On the defensive end, Del Real chipped in for with 37 digs to go along with 12 from Reilly Chausse and Gash. Wolf and Martina Villani added five blocks to lead the Zips. Villani also served up 55 assists against the Eagles.
Zips At A Glance
The Zips hit the road to battle the Bowling Green Falcons with the final two weeks of the regular season on the horizon. Akron enters the series with a 14-11 overall record and a 7-7 record in the MAC.
The Blue and Gold posted a 3-0 week with wins over Buffalo and Eastern Michigan. Delaney Gash led the offense with 69 kills (5.31 per set), a .282 hitting percentage, while adding four assists, three aces and 32 digs. She recorded a pair of double-doubles while setting a new career-high in kills (28). Vanessa Del Real recorded 70 digs the past week, with a career-high 37 coming against Eastern Michigan. Del Real also added 13 assists and three aces. Chidera Ozoh led the defense with 11 blocks, while Martina Villani added nine and Lyndi Wolf notched seven.
For their efforts, Del Real and Gash earned weekly MAC awards.
So far this season, Gash leads the Zips in kills (393) and points (425.5). Villani is the leader in assists (994) while Del Real leads the way in digs (402) and aces (40). Ozoh is the leader for total blocks (108).
After Bowling Green, Akron concludes the regular season with Toledo coming to James A. Rhodes Arena for a pair of matches on Nov. 14 and 15.
Scouting Report
Bowling Green: The MAC Preseason favorite, Bowling Green Falcons, come into the weekend with a 13-13 overall record and a 7-7 record in conference.
Bowling Green has lost its last two matches, with the most recent being a 3-0 loss to Miami on the road. Amanda Otten led the way for the Falcons in the match, leading the team in both assists (15) and digs (8), just missing a double-double. Jessica Andrews paced the BGSU attack with seven kills. Kendall Williams followed closely with six kills, matching her career high, and the lone Falcon ace of the match. Helen Wilford registered a team-high three blocks in the match, including one solo. Wilford now has a team-high 10 solo blocks this season.
So far this season, Avery Hobson leads the squad in kills (319) and points (360). Otten is the leader in assists (668) while Sydnie Hernandez is the leader in aces (28) and digs (388). Wilford leads the way in blocks (118).
Bowling Green ranks in the top-five in the MAC in total points (5th - 1662.5), points per set (4th - 16.46), lowest opp hitting pct (2nd - .188), hitting pct (5th - .199), fewest opp assists (3rd - 1106), assists (5th - 1183) assists per set (5th - 11.71), fewest opp kills (3rd - 1180), kills per set (12.54), total blocks (2nd - 242.5), blocks per set (2nd - 2.40), fewest opp digs (3rd - 1306) and fewest opp digs per set (1st - 12.93).
Individually, Avery Hobson ranks 5th in total kills (319), 7th in kills per set (3.22), 5th in total kills (360) and 7th in points per set (3.64). Amanda Otten ranks 9th in total assists (668) and 5th in assists per set (8.91). Helen Wilford ranks 3rd in total blocks (118) and blocks per set (1.17). Kendal Williams ranks 9th in total blocks (84) and blocks per set (1.04).
Bowling Green ranks 67th in the NCAA in blocks per set (2.40), 72nd in opp hitting percentage (.188), 22nd in total assists (1,183), 78th in total digs (1,357), 24th in total kills (1,267) and 61st in total aces (153).
Individually, Amanda Otten ranks 99th in assists per set (8.91). Avery Hobson ranks 100th in total points (360) while Helen Wilford ranks 14th in total blocks (118).
Best in the conference (11/3)
For the second time this season, Vanessa Del Real and Delaney Gash earned weekly Mid-American Conference awards, the conference office announce on Monday, November 3.
Del Real was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week while Gash was named the Offensive Player of the Week.
Setting the tone for the Zips, Vanessa Del Real set a career-high in digs while helping the Zips to a perfect record over the week.
Recording 70 digs (5.38 per set), Del Real recorded a pair of 20+ dig performances while setting a career-high 37 digs against EMU on Oct. 31, while adding four assists and one ace. She notched 22 digs in the series finale against the Eagles with three assists and one ace.
Leading the Zips' offense with 69 kills (5.31 per set), Delaney Gash powered Akron to a 3-0 week.
Gash produced a pair of 20+ kill performances along with a pair of double-doubles. She notched 24 kills and 12 digs in a five-set victory over Buffalo on Oct. 28, where she hit .306. She recorded another double-double with a career-high 28 kills and 12 digs in a five-set win over EMU on Oct. 31. She finished the week with a 17 kill performance against the Eagles while hitting .280 and adding eight digs, two assists and two aces.
Milestones To Watch For
- Vanessa Del Real is 239 digs from tying Jennifer Borton (1992-95) for 10th in all-time digs (1,469).
- Del Real is 9 aces away from tying Ashley Lewis (1997-2000) for 10th in all-time aces (136).
- Del Real is 130 assists away from 500 as a Zip.
- Martina Villani is 601 assists from tying Carol Claridge (1987-88) for 10th in all-time assists (1,880).
- Villani is 199 assists away from tying Lyndsay Schmiedel (1,193 - 2003) for the 10th most assists in a single season.
- Villani is 209 digs away from 500 as a Zips.
- Maureen Mathews is 308 kills away from 1,000 career kills.
- Mathews is 241 points away from 1,000 in her career.
- Reilly Chausse is 103 digs away from 500 as a Zip.
- Delaney Gash is 199 digs away from 500 as a Zip.
- Gash is 63 kills away from tying Katie Kuzior (456 - 2002) for the 10th most kills in a single season.
- Gabby Brissett is 122 kills away from 500 as a Zip.
- Brissett is 60 kills away from 750 career kills.
- Brissett is 82.5 points away from 500 as a Zip.
- Jordyn Aeschliman is 9 kills away from 100 as a Zip.
Career-Highs (10/31-11/1)
- Gabby Brissett set a career-high in kills (16, vs Eastern Michigan 10/31/25).
- Vanessa Del Real set a career-high in digs (37, vs Eastern Michigan 10/31/25).
- Delaney Gash set a career-high in kills (28, vs Eastern Michigan 10/31/25) and tied her
- career-high in aces (2, vs Eastern Michigan 11/1/25).
Among The Best In The NCAA
The Zips rank 78th in the NCAA in assists per set (12.26), 89th in kills per set (13.18), 7th in total assists (1,251), 48th in total digs (1,442), 5th in total kills (1,344), 37th in total aces (164) and 77th in total blocks (206).
Individually, Vanessa Del Real ranks 71st in aces per set (.41), 28th in total aces (40) and 44th in total digs (402). Martina Villani ranks 56th in assists per set (9.75) and 3rd in total assists (994). Delaney Gash ranks 60th in kills per set (4.01), 23rd in total points (425.5), 87th in points per set (4.34) and 15th in total kills (393). Chidera Ozoh ranks 36th in total blocks (108).
Leaders In The MAC
Akron ranks in the top-five in the MAC in total points (2nd - 1714), points per set (2nd - 16.80), hitting % (3rd - .216), fewest opp assists per set (4th - 11.40), total assists (2nd - 11151), assists per set (2nd - 12.26), fewest opp kills (4th - 1265), fewest opp kills per set (12.40), total kills (2nd - 1344), kills per set (2nd - 13.14), total aces (3rd - 164), and aces per set (4th - 1.61).
Individually, the Zips see Lyndi Wolf rank 6th in hitting percentage (.303). Gabby Brissett ranks 10th in hitting percentage (.277). Delaney Gash ranks 2nd in total kills (393) and kills per set (4.01) while ranking 2nd in total points (425.5) and points per set (4.34). Martina Villani ranks 2nd in total assists (994) and assists per set (9.75). Vanessa Del Real ranks 1st in total aces (40), 2nd in aces per set (.41), 4th in total digs (402) and 2nd in digs per set (4.14). Chidera Ozoh ranks 5th in total blocks (108) and 7th in blocks per set (1.06).
Double-Double
Delaney Gash leads the Zips with eight double-doubles after posting a 28-kill, 12-dig performance vs EMU on Oct. 31. Martina Villani has recorded six, with the most recent coming against EMI on Nov. 1 with a 36-assist, 12-dig performance. Vanessa Del Real has one after recording a 17 dig, 10 assist performance at Youngstown State on Sept. 18.
First Set Success
Akron has taken the first set in 14 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, at Buffalo, vs EMU x2), and have gone 11-3. 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 nine 5-set matches in 2025 and are 6-3 in those contests. Akron has defeated Green Bay, American, Western Michigan, Northern Illinois, Buffalo and Eastern Michigan while falling to NC State, Miami (OH) and Buffalo.
Last season, the Blue and Gold played in 11 five-set matches and went 2-9 in those contests.
What's Next?
The Zips conclude the regular season with a trip to the MAC Tournament on the line next week, with the Toledo Rockets coming to the JAR on November 14 and 15.
