The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Miami (Ohio)
Bowling Green Downs Akron 3-0 in Tight Battle
September 30 | Women's Volleyball
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – In its first Mid-American Conference road match, The University of Akron volleyball team gave Bowling Green all it could handle but fell 3-0 (20-25, 28-30, 23-25) at the Stroh Center Friday night. Freshman Kymberle Gordon tallied a career-high 13 kills on the night as the Zips finished with an impressive .337 hitting percentage.
The Zips (3-13, 0-3) were competitive in all three sets, especially in a thrilling second frame that saw 20 tie scores and nine lead changes and ended 30-28 in Bowling Green's favor. Pacing Akron with 14 kills was senior outside hitter Courtney Jarvis, who had just three errors in 34 attempts for a .324 hitting percentage. Gordon hit .423 and added three block assists, and junior Paiton Twitty tied her career best with seven kills and made just one error in 13 attempts to hit .462 for the match. Overall, UA recorded 45 kills to just 10 errors in 104 attempts.
The first set started off fairly even, with BG (15-1, 2-1) holding a slim 10-8 advantage. After three straight points, the Falcons went up 15-11 and forced Akron to use a timeout. A kill by Alex Cocklin ended the run, and the Zips managed to take three consecutive points of their own to pull within one, down just 16-15.
Akron knotted the frame at 17 off a slam by Gordon, but BG took a 20-18 lead to hold the edge. Three points later, UA faced a 22-19 deficit. A Falcon service error put on one the board for Akron, but BG took the next point to stay ahead 23-20. The set ended after two BGSU aces closed it out, 25-20.
In the second set, both teams traded points as the score stood level at 8-8 early. Bowling Green then turned in back-to-back blocks, but Gordon notched another kill for UA on the following point to make it 10-9, BG. The set remained tight, as Akron tied it up again at 14 until BG went on a four-point streak to take a 19-15 lead.
Out of a timeout, the Zips responded and took the next four points to even the score at 19. With it still tied at 22, a Falcon error gave the Zips a 23-22 lead. BG bounced back, though, to win the next two points to go ahead 24-23. A kill by Jarvis kept UA alive, but BG managed to earn set point again at 25-24. This time Cocklin evened the score, but BG again answered on the next point.
Another slam by Cocklin knotted it at 26, and the teams continued to go back and forth. A block by Gordon and Cocklin tied it at 27, and then Jarvis gave the Zips a set point. BG came back, however, to go ahead 29-28 and ended the set on an ace, 30-28.
The third set started out no different than the first two, as the action was nearly even out of the gate. With the score level at 8-8, Gordon tallied back-to-back kills to give the Zips a slim advantage. Bowling Green answered by taking a 13-11 lead after winning four consecutive points. Later, the Falcons were still on top 16-13, but Akron rallied to even the score at 18 by going on a three-point run.
At 19-19, BG won two straight points to earn a 21-19 edge. After trading the next two, the Falcons took control with a 23-20 lead. Jarvis notched a kill from the left side to make it 23-21 and then combined with Twitty for a block to draw within one. BG earned match point, but Cocklin kept Akron alive for one more point. The Falcons then closed out the match, taking the set 25-23.
The Zips will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 1, at East division foe Miami (Ohio). The match is slated to start at 7 p.m. ET at MU's Millett Hall. Live stats will be available through GoZips.com.
