Zips Volleyball Travels to Miami This Week

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AKRON, Ohio- The Akron volleyball team returns to action this week as the Zips travel to Oxford, Ohio to face Miami (OH). The Zips will battle the RedHawks 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 30 before rounding out the two-match series at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1.

GAME COVERAGE
Akron vs. Miami (OH) | Thursday, Sept. 30 |7 PM
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3mcjzVP
ESPN3: https://es.pn/2Y2c3Ex

Akron vs. Miami (OH) Friday, Oct. 1 | 6 PM
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3mcjzVP
ESPN+: https://es.pn/2Y9F5mh

ABOUT THE ZIPS
The Akron Zips volleyball team, under the direction of sixth-year head coach Tom Hanna, stand 6-8 overall and 0-2 in MAC play after dropping two matches to Bowling Green last weekend. The Zips dropped a 3-0 decision in the opener and followed with a 3-1 loss in the series finale.

Senior Teagan Ochaya (Mentor, Ohio) led the Zips over the weekend in the series against Bowling Green. In the first match, Ochaya registered a .444 hitting percentage while leading the Zips' offense with 10 kills on 18 attempts. In the series finale, Ochaya led the team again and had a team-high 17 kills. For the series, she registered a total of 33 kills on 74 swings and finished with a .324 hitting percentage. Above the net, Ochaya garnered two solo blocks and four block assists, giving her a team-high six total blocks in the series.

Offensively, the Zips are led by a pair of heavy hitters in Ochaya and senior Alexis Adleta (West Chester, Ohio) with 174 kills (3.16 per set) and 128kills (2.72 per set), respectively. Senior Megan Kelly (Lakewood, Ill.) and sophomore Faith Johnson (Naperville, Ill.) follow with 99 and 80 total kills. Setter Emily Weigand (Burton, Ohio) leads the team with 492 assists (8.95) per set). Johnson leads the squad with a team-best 15 service aces.

Defensively, the Zips have a duo of players with over 100 digs in senior Taylor Sharrits (Concord, Ohio) with 1212 digs, and Weigand with 146. Above the net, Kelly holds a team-high 46 blocks, while freshman Karleighana Jones (White Plains, N.Y.) and Ochaya have blocked 36 and 37, respectively.

SHARRITS BREAKS SCHOOL RECORD
Last week in the game against DePaul, Sharrits broke the 29-year-old program record of career digs as her 11th dig of the match sent her past Karen Godzinski who held the program record at 2,007. Sharrits finished the match with 23 total digs, giving her 2,020 for her career. Sharrits currently leads the program with 2,065 career digs.

CHASING MILESTONES
Akron assists leader senior S Emily Weigand (Burton, Ohio) ranks fifth all-time at Akron with 3,952 assists. She is 48 assists away from eclipsing the 4,000 career assists threshold. Kim Schaper (1996-99) is Akron's all-time leader with 5,619 assists.

Chasing 1,000 career mark is senior LS Alexis Adleta (West Chester, Ohio). Adleta is nearing 1,000 digs, needing 200 digs to reach 1,000 with 800 total digs.

SCOUTING MIAMI (OH)
The RedHawks, under 38th-year head coach Carolyn Condit, currently sit at 2-10 overall and 0-2 in MAC play after dropping two matches to Buffalo last weekend (3-2 L, 3-0 L).

Offensively, the RedHawksare led by a pair of heavy hitters in Sophie Riemersma and Gaby Harper with 107 kills (2.43 per set) and 99 kills (2.36 per set), respectively. Gaby Harper and Allyson Severance follow with 99 and 76 total kills. Setter Lydia Harper leads the team with 130 assists (4.48) per set). Harper distributed a team-best 9 service aces.

Defensively, the RedHawks have two players with over 100 digs as Harper leads the way with 132 (3.14 per set), followed by Taylor Nomanson with 103 (4.29 per set). Above the net, Miami is led by Brooke Cirigliano in total blocks with 30 of the team's 77 blocks followed by Maggie McCrary (26), and Riemersma (24).

SERIES VS. MIAMI (OH)
Miami (OH) leads the all-time series 49-16 over Akron. Last season, the two teams split the series as the Zips won the first match 3-2, and the RedHawks answered with a 3-2 victory on Jan. 28, 202.

AKRON QUICK HITS

Taylor Sharrits hit 1,000 career-digs
Taylor Sharrits leads the program with 2,065 career-digs

UP NEXT
The Zips will continue conference competition as they return home for games with Ball State and Toledo. Akron will face the Cardinals on Friday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m., and close out the weekend with the Rockets on Saturday, Oct. 9 at 4 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Alexis Adleta

Faith Johnson

Karleighana Jones

Megan Kelly

Teagan Ochaya

Taylor Sharrits

Emily Weigand

The University of Akron Athletics