The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Central Michigan
Zips Fall 3-0 at West Division Foe Central Michigan
October 21 | Women's Volleyball
MT. PLEASANT, Mich. – On the road Friday night, The University of Akron volleyball team fell 3-0 to Central Michigan (22-25, 16-25, 20-25) at McGuirk Arena. Senior Courtney Jarvis and sophomore Alex Cocklin each tallied eight kills to lead the Zips, who drop to 4-18 overall and 1-8 on the season. CMU improves to 13-7 for the season and 6-3 in the Mid-American Conference.
For Akron, Cocklin and junior Paiton Twitty each notched four block assists as the Zips turned in 9.0 team blocks. UA struggled on offense, however, only hitting .093 for the night. Freshman Kymberle Gordon added seven kills and hit a team-high .357.
In the opening set, play was fast and furious as the clubs were neck-and-neck out of the gate. With the score tied at nine apiece, Central Michigan went on a four-point run to get some separation with a 13-9 lead. A kill by Alex Wiederholt ended the streak, and the Zips climbed back to even the set at 14 all.
Akron then jumped in front 17-16 with a block, but the Chippewas regained the lead by winning the next two points. At 18-18, CMU pulled away after taking three-straight points and soon held a 23-19 advantage. Akron got back on the board with a kill and a CMU error, but the Chippewas closed out the set 25-22.
In the second frame, Akron claimed the first point, but CMU raced out to a 7-2 lead to take control early. Trailing 5-10, Akron's Kymberle Gordon slammed a kill from the middle, but the Zips still struggled to keep it close. Central extended its margin to 14-7, forcing Akron to call a timeout.
With UA still down 10-17, a CMU error added a point, but the Zips could not string anything together. A block by Gordon made it 14-19, and an attack error gave Akron the next point, but CMU still had a 20-15 lead. The Zips kept fighting, but the lead was too much to overcome, as CMU took the set with a kill to end it at 25-16.
Akron came out and took a 6-3 lead in the third. CMU battled back to make it 8-6 and then tied it with back-to-back aces that clipped the net. A kill by Alex Cocklin gave Akron a 12-11 lead, but Central tied it up again on the next point and went on to take a 14-12 lead. Now with the momentum, CMU extended its lead to 18-14 and forced a UA timeout.
An attack error by the Chippewas made it 15-18, but Akron could not get closer than three points. Trailing 16-20, the Zips took another timeout to try to get back in the set. After the break, a service error gave UA a point, but Akron again could not put anything together. A CMU block made it 23-17, but Cocklin added a kill to give Akron 18. Central then earned match point, but Cocklin kept it alive with another kill. Down 19-24, Mary Delich notched an ace to save another match point, but CMU put it away at 25-20.
The Zips will take on Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. ET at the Eagles' Convocation Center. Live stats can be found at GoZips.com.
