Akron Sweeps Canisius and Stony Brook in Final Matches of Akron Invitational

Saturday, September 1

Akron, OH

12:30 PM

University of Akron

3-2

Canisius

1-3

Canisius

Akron

Photo by: Ernie Aranyosi

Akron Sweeps Canisius and Stony Brook in Final Matches of Akron Invitational

September 01 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

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MATCH 1 - BOX SCORE (PDF)
MATCH 2 - BOX SCORE (PDF)

AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron volleyball team earned two wins in its final matches of the Akron Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 1, at the James A. Rhodes Arena.

The Zips defeated Canisius, 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-21) before topping Stony Brook in straight sets (26-24, 25-23, 25-19).

In Akron's win over Canisius, Alexis Adleta (West Chester, Ohio) led the offense with 13 kills, while junior Ashley Richardson (Doylestown, Ohio) and sophomore Shelby Fulmer (Perrysburg, Ohio) recorded nine and six kills, respectively. Setter Emily Weigand (Burton, Ohio) totaled 17 assists, while sophomore Taylor Sharrits (Concord, Ohio) led with 12 digs.

A deciding factor in Akron's win was serving. As a team, the Zips had a total of 10 service aces compared to the Griffins' two. Sharrits had a team-best of four service aces.

The first set sat tied on six total occasions before the Zips held a 9-8 edge. Canisius scored the next six straight points to pull ahead, 15-10. The score sat locked 21-21 when two kills from Gwozdz in addition to two Canisius errors sealed the Zips 25-23 first set victory.

Canisius jumped ahead to an 8-3 advantage early in the second, but six back-to-back points, including two service aces by senior Abbey Pawlak (Sylvania, Ohio), would put the Zips back in the lead. The Griffins would come back to tie the set at 15 when another unanswered run would give Akron a 20-15 lead, setting them in position to take the second set, 25-21.

The third set was tied at 3 when kills from Adleta and Richardson as well as three straight service aces by Sharrits gave the Zips a five-point lead. The Griffins came within three points of the Zips, but kills from freshman Mahogany Vinson (Richton Park, Ill.) and Gwozdz, accompanied by two service aces from Weigand increased Akron's lead to seven. The Zips had eight service aces in the third set alone, helping them to 25-21 final set win.

In the Zips 3-0 victory over the Seawolves, Sharrits added 24 more digs, while Richardson and Fulmer added to the defensive efforts with four and three blocks, respectively. Richardson also led Akron with 12 kills and Gwozdz totaled 11. Weigand had team-bests of 30 assists and two service aces.

Stony Brook held a 13-9 lead to start the match, but five consecutive kills gave the Zips a 14-13 edge. The score was back-and-forth for the remainder of the set until the Seawolves led 24-23. Kills from Weigand and Adleta in addition to a Stony Brook attacking error gave the Zips a thrilling 26-24 first set win.

Motivated after being down 1-0, the Seawolves started the second set on a 11-1 run. However, Akron would score 17 of the next 23 points to finally gain an 18-17 edge over Stony Brook. The remainder of the set was close with the Seawolves only trailing 24-23, but a kill by Gwozdz would seal the set for the Zips, improving to 2-0.

The third set was no different from the previous two, back-and-forth until the Zips finally went on a 6-1 run to gain a 19-13 lead. The Seawolves would come no closer than five points for the remainder of the set, resulting in a 25-19 third set win to complete the Zips second sweep of the day.

A match between Stony Brook and Canisius on Sunday will wrap up the 2018 Akron Invitational.

Up next, Akron will travel to compete in the Wake Forest Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C., Sept. 7-8. The Zips will take on Georgia Southern, Friday at 7 p.m. in its first match of the tournament.