Zips Host Miami & Ball State to Begin #MACtion

Thursday, September 25

Akron, Ohio

6:00 PM

University of Akron

Miami

Tickets

September 24 | Women's Volleyball

AKRON, Ohio - The Zips begin Mid-American Conference action with a pair of home games, with Miami (OH) coming to James A. Rhodes Arena on Thursday while Ball State comes to the Rubber City on Friday.

How To Follow The Action
Miami (OH): Video | Stats
Ball State: Video | Stats

A Look At The Series
Miami (OH): Akron Trails 22-50 | Norton vs Miami: 4-1
First Played:1974 (Akron 1, Miami 2)
Last Played: October 12, 2024 (Akron, 3, Miami 1)

The Zips and RedHawks will battle for the 73rd time in the all-time series on Thursday. Akron has taken the last four meetings while holding a 7-3 record in the past 10 meetings. Before the Zips posted a 3-0 win on October 5, 2019, Miami had won 11 straight.

Ball State: Akron Trails 5-42 | Norton vs Ball State: 0-4
First Played: Oct. 11, 1986 (Akron 1, Ball State 3)
Last Played: Oct. 11, 2024 (Akron 0, Ball State 3)

Akron and Ball State battle for the 48th time in the all-time series on Friday. Akron will look for just its sixth win against the Cardinals while also looking to stop a seven-game losing streak. The last Akron victory came in 2019 when the Blue and Gold came away with a 3-2 victory at James A. Rhodes Arena on September 28.

Common Opponents (Non-MAC schools)
Miami (OH): Eastern Kentucky (ASUN), Northern Kentucky (Horizon)
Ball State: None

Zips At A Glance
Akron enters Mid-American Conference action with a 7-4 overall record after defeating Youngstown State 3-1 and Cleveland State 3-0 the past week.

Delaney Gash led the Zips in kills this past week with 33 and hit .297. Gabby Brissett hit .366 with 21 kills and Maureen Mathews recorded 25 kills on the week. Vanessa Dell Real notched 29 digs, 13 assists and four aces while Martina Villani had 79 assists, which included a career high 48 at Youngstown State. Chidera Ozoh averaged a block per set, seven total, for the week.

Gash and Villani earned weekly MAC awards for their efforts the past week.

So far this season, Mathews leads the Zips in kills (167) and points (177.5). Villani is the leader in assists (377) while Del Real leads the way in digs (154) and aces (25). Chidera Ozoh leads Akron in blocks (39).

Scouting Report
Miami (OH): Miami enters the week with a 6-6 record and a clean slate to begin conference play. The RedHawks are set to travel to Buffalo on Friday after traveling to Akron on Thursday.

The RedHawks are 3-2 over their past five games, recently splitting a home-and-home with Northern Kentucky to conclude non-conference action. NKU defeated Miami 3-0 at Millett Hall while the RedHawks took a 3-2 road victory to split the series. Before the two-game swing against the Norse, Miami went 2-1 in the Best Western Invitational, defeating Middle Tennessee 3-1 and Duquesne 3-2 while falling to Southern Indiana 3-1.

So far this season, Chelsea Williams leads the RedHawks in kills (131) while Molly Creech is the leader in points (144.5) and digs (158). Gentry Warrick is the leader in blocks (67) while Lindy Radaszewski and Ellie Hanson are tied for the lead in aces (10).

The RedHawks rank in the top-five in the MAC in opp. hitting% (4th - .192), blocks per set (1st - 2.43), total blocks (1st - 119), fewest opp. aces per set (1st - .88), fewest total opp. aces (1st - 43), digs per set (2nd - 15.04) and total digs (15.04).

Individually, Warrick is 1st in the MAC for blocks per set (1.52) and second in total blocks (67). Anna McClie is 9th in digs per set (3.24) while Creech is 10th (3.22). Creech also ranks 6th in total digs (158) while McClure is 8th (149).

Miami ranks 72nd in the NCAA in blocks per set (2.43), 68th in digs per set (15.04), 64th in total assists (540), 31st in total digs (737) and 65th in total kills (582).

Individually, Warrick ranks 13th in the NCAA in blocks per set (1.52) and 6th in total blocks (67).

The RedHawks were tabbed to finish ninth in the MAC Preseason Poll.

Ball State: Ball State enters the week with a 4-8 overall record. The Cardinals will battle Buffalo on the road on Thursday before taking on the Zips on Friday to begin conference action.

Ball State has dropped its last matches and is 1-4 over its last five. The last victory for the Cardinals came on September 13 when they defeated Milwaukee 3-0 on the road. Three of the past four losses for the Cardinals have come via five-set matches.

Carson Tyler leads Ball State so far this season in kills (217) and points (238.5). Lindsey Green is the leader in assists (404) and aces (15). Sophie Ledbetter leads the way in digs (195) while Gwen Crull is the leader in blocks (31).

The Cardinals rank in the top-five in the MAC in total points (2nd - 806), hitting% (.245), assists per set (2nd - 12.04), total assists (614), kills per set (13.08), total kills (1st - 667), total blocks (5th - 82), fewest opp. aces per set (2nd - .98), fewest total opp. aces (4th - 50) and total digs (691).

Individually, Camryn Wise ranks 2nd in hitting% (.351). Tyler ranks 2nd in kills per set (4.25), 1st in total kills (217), 1st in total points (238.5) and 3rd in points per set (4.68). Noelle Van Oort ranks 9th in kills per set (3.24), 5th in total kills (165), 5th in total points (182) and 10th in points per set (3.57). Ledbetter ranks 4th in digs per set (3.82) and 3rd in total digs (195). Green ranks 8th in assists per set (8.08) and 4th in total assists (404).

Ball State ranks 75th in the NCAA in hitting% (.245), 95th in kills per set (13.08), 14th in total assists (614), 54th in total digs (691) and 12th in total kills (667).

Individually, Tyler ranks 40th in the NCAA in kills per set (4.25), 4th in total points (238.5), 46th in points per set (4.68) and 4th in total kills (217). VanOort ranks 75th in total points (182)and 57th in total kills (165). Green ranks 37th in total assists (404).

The Cardinals were tabbed to finish second in the MAC Preseason Poll.

Best In The Conference (9/22/25)
After helping the Zips to a 2-0 week that saw just one set go against the Blue and Gold, Delaney Gash and Martina Villani earned weekly Mid-American Conference awards, the conference office announced Monday, September 22.

Gash was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week, while Villani was named the MAC Setter of the Week.

Gash finished the week with a .297 hitting percentage while leading the Zips in kills with 33 against Youngstown State and Cleveland State.

Averaging 4.71 kills per set, she registered 19 kills and seven digs against Youngstown State while adding 14 kills and a .303 hitting percentage in a sweep of Cleveland State.

Villani anchored the Zips offense this past week, once again resetting her career-high in assists in the process.

Recording a career-high 48 assists at Youngstown State, Villani also added eight digs, three kills, two blocks and two aces against the Penguins.

She would register 31 assists in a 3-0 victory over Cleveland State while adding six digs, three kills, three aces and three blocks in the home victory over the Vikings.

Milestones To Watch For

Vanessa Del Real is 18 digs away from 1,000 as a Zip.
Del Real is 487 digs from tying Jennifer Borton (1992-95) for 10th in all-time digs (1,469).
Del Real is 24 aces away from tying Ashley Lewis (1997-2000) for 10th in all-time aces (136).
Del Real is 172 assists away from 500 as a Zip.
Martina Villani is 338 assists away from 1,000 as a Zip.
Maureen Mathews is 4 blocks away from 100 career blocks.
Reily Chausse is 248 digs away from 500 as a Zip.
Delaney Gash is 211 kills away from 500 as a Zip.
Jordyn Aeschliman is 17 kills away from 100 as a Zip.
Lyndi Wolf is 32 kills away from 100 as a Zip.

Leaders In The MAC
Akron ranks in the top-five in the MAC in points per set (4th - 16.65), hitting % (5th - .210), fewest opp assists (4th - 455), fewest opp assists per set (3rd - 10.58), assists per set (3rd - 12.02),, fewest opp kills (4th - 482), fewest opp kills per set (2nd - 11.21), total kills (5th - 562), kills per set (3rd - 13.07), total aces (4th - 75), aces per set (5th - 1.74), fewest opp digs (3rd - 529), fewest opp digs per set (12.30) and total digs (5th - 347).

Individually, the Zips see Maureen Mathews ranked 4th in total kills (167) and kills per set (3.88) while ranked 6th in total points (177.5) and points per set (4.13). Delaney Gash ranks 8th in total kills (141), 7th in kills per set (3.53), 8th in total points (153) and 7th in points per set (3.83). Martina Villani ranks 7th in total assists (377) and 6th in assists per set (8.77). Vanessa Del Real ranks 1st in total aces (25) and aces per set (.58) while ranked 7th in total digs (154) and 6th in digs per set (3.58). Chidera Ozoh ranks 6th in total blocks (39) and 9th in blocks per set (.91). Lyndi Wolf ranks 8th for total blocks (33).

Among The Best In The NCAA
As a team, the Zips rank 80th in the NCAA in aces per set (1.74), 96th in kills per set (13.07), 97th in total assists (517), 91st in total kills (562) and 76th in total aces (75)

Individually, Vanessa Del Real ranks 20th in the NCAA in aces per set (.58) and 18th in total aces (25).

Maureen Mathews ranks 80th in kills per set (3.88), 96th in total points (177.5) and 53rd in total kills (167). Martina Villani ranks 72nd in total assists (377).

New Career Highs (Sept. 18-19)