The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
St. Francis (Pa.)
Zips Sweep St. Francis and Bradley in Akron Invitational
September 02 | Women's Volleyball
AKRON, Ohio – With two sweeps, The University of Akron volleyball team earned its first wins of the season, defeating St. Francis (Pa.) and Bradley 3-0 as part of the Akron Invitational at James A. Rhodes Arena. The Zips (2-4) took down SFU with scores of 25-8, 25-19, and 25-16, while Bradley proved tougher to tame, falling 25-14, 25-22, and 26-24, including comebacks by UA in the final two sets.
Akron 3, St. Francis (Pa.) 0
With a sweep of St. Francis, UA picked up its first win of the season with relative ease. The Zips now own a 10-0 all-time record over the Red Flash. In the win, Akron set a new program record for team hitting percentage, finishing with a mark of .465 on 41 kills, just eight errors and 71 attempts, which surpasses the previous record of .459 set back in 1990.
Seniors Tina Dimitrijevs and Courtney Jarvis each tallied nine kills, and Dimitrijevs tied her career high with a .750 hitting percentage with no errors on 12 attempts. Freshman Kymberle Gordon added eight kills on 13 attempts with two errors for a percentage of .462.
The Zips were sharp in the opening set, notching 10 kills on 17 attempts and finishing error-free for a .588 hitting percentage while allowing SFU to score just eight points. Gordon was a perfect 3-for-3 on attacks, and setter Morgan Kuhn totaled six assists and two service aces.
In the second frame, Alex Wiederholt went 5-for-5 to lead the assault in which UA tallied a match-high 18 kills on 30 attempts and committed only four errors (.467). Akron jumped out to an early 5-1 lead, but St. Francis kept it tight. With UA leading 15-12, a kill by Dimitrijevs started a three-point run that put some distance between the teams. From then on, Akron was able to maintain its lead and secure the set.
The third set was neck-and-neck early, with Akron holding a narrow 8-7 lead before reeling off four consecutive points to stretch its margin to 12-7. SFU stayed close, trailing just 16-13 at one point, but the Zips all but shut them down after that, going on another four-point run to take a 22-14 advantage. From there, SFU would score just two more times, and a kill by Janine Lawler sealed the win a few points later.
Akron 3, Bradley 0
In the nightcap, Jarvis led Akron with 11 kills on 22 attempts and made only one error for a .455 hitting percentage. Dimitrijevs added eight kills, including crucial points in the final set, to lead the Zips to victory. UA finished with a .291 team hitting percentage while holding Bradley to just .072. Kuhn, who also came up big late in the match, tallied 27 assists and three solo blocks.
The Zips took care of the first set without much trouble, opening up a 9-1 lead and never letting up. Jarvis and Gordon led the way with four and three kills apiece, respectively. Bradley came to play in the second set, however, and held a 12-10 lead at one point.
It was back and forth throughout, and the Braves had the slight edge at 21-20 late. Not to be denied, the Zips stormed back and won four of the next five points to claim the tightly contested set.
In the final set, Akron again had to pull another comeback after losing what was once an 18-13 lead. Bradley stormed back and went up 21-19 after taking five straight points. The Braves earned set point at 24-22, but Akron stayed alive thanks to the clutch play of Dimitrijevs, who had three kills in the final four points to complete the comeback and give UA the win.
Akron will be back in action tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET against Canisius in the final match of the tournament. Live stats and live video streaming will be available at GoZips.com.
