The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Youngstown State
Akron Volleyball Set to Host Zips Invitational
September 13 | Women's Volleyball
MATCH NOTES (PDF)
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THIS WEEKÂ
The Zips wrap up tournament play this weekend hosting the Zips Invitational, Sept. 14-15, at James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio.
On Friday, Akron will open up the tournament taking on Youngstown State at 7 p.m.Â
Due to impending inclement weather caused by Hurricane Florence, the VCU Invite that Toledo was originally scheduled to play in was cancelled. Additionally, Iona dropped out of the Zips Invitational due to a scheduling conflict. As a result, Toledo joined the tournament and will play Bucknell and Youngstown State on Saturday at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., respectively.Â
A 5 p.m. match on Saturday night between Akron and Bucknell will close out the Zips Invitational as well as tournament play for this season.Â
FULL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, Sept. 14
7 PM - Akron vs. Youngstown State
Saturday, Sept. 15
10 AM - Bucknell vs. Toledo
12:30 PM - Youngstown State vs. Toledo
5 PM - Akron vs. BucknellÂ
-home teams in bold
ABOUT THE ZIPS
Senior Kayla Gwozdz (Temperance, Mich.) leads the Zips' offense with 107 kills, while sophomore Alexis Adleta (West Chester, Ohio) tallies 95 kills. Middle blocker Ashley Richardson (Doylestown, Ohio) holds a team-best in hitting percentage with .358 and is tied with Gwozdz in blocks with 11. Â
Sophomore Shelby Fulmer (Perrysburg, Ohio) had a stand out weekend recording career highs in kills (17) and hitting percentage (.455). Fulmer now is second on the team with a .300 hitting percentage. Additionally, Richardson and Fulmer were named to the Wake Forest Invitational All-Tournament team last weekend.Â
Sophomore setter Emily Weigand (Burton, Ohio) is averaging 6.91 assists per set, while also leading the Zips with 25 service aces. Weigand posted career-high seven service aces in Akron's win over Elon. Sophomore defensive specialist Taylor Sharrits (Concord, Ohio) leads the defense with 168 digs.Â
The Zips are under the direction of fourth-year head coach Tom Hanna who has a career record of 167-200, including 28-66 at Akron.
AKRON QUICK HITS
- As of last weekend, Akron is now tied in number of wins for the 2017 season with six.Â
- Sophomore setter Emily Weigand is ranked sixth in the nation with .71 aces per set, while the Akron as a team ranks 12th nationally in aces per set with 1.89.
- In the MAC, Akron ranks first in service aces per set (1.89) , second in assists per set (12.26 ), third in kills per set (13.14) and fifth in hitting percentage (.207).Â
- Defensive specialist Taylor Sharrits has posted double-digit digs in 13 of the las 14 matches she has played in.Â
- Akron is 3-0 in five-set matches.Â
- Four freshmen have seen playing time in at least half of Akron's matches this season including Mahogany Vinson, Megan Kelly, Hannah Yaconis and Teagan Ochaya.
SCOUTING YOUNGSTOWN STATE
The Penguins, under the direction of first-year head coach Aline Scott, stand 6-5 so far this season. Last weekend, Youngstown State went 1-2 at the Jefferson Cup, hosted by Virginia. YSU fell to UNC Wilmington (3-1) and Virginia (3-0), before picking up at 3-1 win over George Mason. Most recently, the Penguins lost to Robert Morris in a midweek non-conference match, 3-1, on Tuesday.Â
The Penguins are led on by junior Aleah Hughes, who is averaging 2.78 kills per set and 162 digs. Senior middle blocker Sarah Varcolla adds to the defensive efforts, with 37 total blocks. Setter Giovanna Kuntze leads Youngstown State with 106 assists and 11 service aces.Â
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SERIES VS. YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Akron leads the all-time series over Youngstown State, 49-1 with its history dating back to 1974, Zips Volleyball inaugural season. Under the direction of Hanna, Akron is 2-0 against the Penguins, with its most recent meeting ending in a 3-1 (28-26, 25-19, 19-25, 26-24) victory for the Zips on Sept. 9, 2017.
SCOUTING BUCKNELL
The Bison are 5-4 heading into the Zips Invitational. Last weekend, Bucknell competed in the Hartford Invitational where it earned a 3-0 win over Niagara, before falling to both Hartford and Brown, 3-0 and 3-1, respectively.Â
Junior outside hitter Sophie Bullard leads the offensive efforts for the Bison with 101 kills, averaging 3.26 per set. Sophomore setter Alexa Bonanno is averaging 8.35 assists per set and has recorded a team-best nine service aces. Libero Brooke Stark has a total of 108 digs while Mimi Richards leads with 45 total blocks.
Bucknell is under the direction of Anna Allison, who is in her fifth season as head coach of the Bison.Â
SERIES VS. BUCKNELL
The Zips lead the all-time series over Bucknell, 1-0. Akron defeated the Bison, 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-16) on Sept. 11, 2009 in the only meeting between the teams prior to this weekend.Â
LAST WEEK
The Zips went 2-1 for the third straight weekend Akron competed at the Wake Forest Invitational. Akron defeated Georgia Southern, 3-2 (25-19, 21-25, 20-25, 25-23, 15-11) and Elon, 3-1 (25-19, 25-17, 17-25, 25-22) before falling to Wake Forest in the tournament finale, 3-0 (25-12, 25-23, 25-21).
UP NEXT FOR THE ZIPS
Akron will open up conference play as it hosts Miami (Ohio), Sept. 21 at 7p.m., and Bowling Green, Sept. 22 at 5 p.m. The match against Miami will be broadcast on ESPN+.
