The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
NC State
Volleyball Opens 2025 On the Road at the Summit Hospitality Tournament
August 28 | Women's Volleyball
How To Follow The Action
NC State (Friday): Video | Stats
Green Bay (Friday): No Video | Stats
Army (Saturday): No Video | Stats
Stat Leaders (2024)
Akron: Kills: Lauren Baker (384) | Assists: Eliska Vytiskova (979) | Points: Lauren Baker (434.5) |Â Aces: Eliska Vytiskova (53)Â | Digs: Vanessa Del Real (423) | Blocks: Karleighana Jones (111)
NC State: Kills: Amanda Rice (366) | Assists: Naomi Cabello (678) | Points: Amanda Rice (437.5) | Aces: Skye Stokes (45) Digs: Skye Stokes (413) | Blocks: Jada Allen (111)
Green Bay: Kills: Katie Schultz (410) | Assists: Calli Gentry (1180) | Points: Katie Schultz (434.0) | Aces: Emma Best (46)Â Digs: Abby Gardner (507) | Blocks: Diane Pichelman (104)
Army: Kills: Kingsley Wallace (320) | Assists: Juliette Myrick (796) | Points: Kinglsey Wallace (374) |Â Aces: Chloe Murakami (43) | Digs: Mackenzie Lynch (360) | Blocks: Tatum Grimes (132)
A Look At The Series
NC STATE: Akron Leads 4-0 | Norton vs NC State: First Meeting
First Played:Sept. 17, 1994 (Akron 3, NC State 2)
Last Played: Sept. 5, 2008 (Akron, 3, NC State 1)
GREEN BAY: Akron Leads 6-0 | Norton vs Green Bay: First Meeting
First Played:Nov. 5,1988 (Akron 3, Green Bay 0)
Last Played: Sept. 5, 1992 (Akron 3, Green Bay 0)
ARMY: Series Is Tied 1-1 | Norton vs Army: First Meeting
First Played: Sept. 21, 2002 (Akron 3, Army 2)
Last Played: Sept. 16, 2017 (Army 3, Akron 0)
Last Time Out
AKRON, Ohio (11/16/24) - The Akron volleyball team lost to the Central Michigan Chippewas in five sets (24-26, 25-19, 29-31, 25-18, 10-15) Saturday at home at James A. Rhodes Arena as Karleighana Jones broke the single-season hitting percentage.
Jones set a new single-season hitting percentage record after concluding her career as a Zip with a .397 hitting percentage this season. The previous record was held by Tina Dimitrijevs who hit .367 in 2010.
The Zips offense was paced by Lauren Baker, who finished with 15 kills on the night. Delaney Gash added 14 and Emanouela Christodoulou chipped in with 13 as part of balanced Akron attack. Jones had eight kills as well while Ellen Kinnaird added seven. Defensively, Akron had three players reach double figures in digs, including Vanessa Del Real's 18, 13 from Reilly Chausse, and 10 more from Vytiskova. From the front row, Kinnaird contributed five blocks while Gash added four more. Vytiskova also recorded her 17th double-double of the season with her 52 assists and 10 digs.
Zips At A Glance
The Zips come into the 2025 season after finishing 11-19 overall and 7-11 in the Mid-American Conference last season.Â
The Zips will feature nine new players this season after losing notable players such as Eliska Vytiskova, Lauren Baker and Karleighana Jones.
Jones set the single-season hitting percentage record in 2024 after finishing the year with a .397 mark while Vytiskova surpassed Carol Claridge (1987-88) for 9th in career assists against Eastern Michigan after recording 30 assists on November 9, 2024.
Akron was led by Baker in kills (384), and points (435.5) in 2024. Eliska Vytiskova (53) was the Zips' leader in assists (979) and aces (53). Vannessa Del Real was the leader in digs (423) while Jones served as the leader in blocks (111).
Akron ended the 2024 season in the top-5 in the MAC for points per set (4th - 16.77), total points (2nd- 1894.5), total assists (1st - 1423), assists per set (2nd - 12.59), total kills (2nd - 1488), kills per set (4th - 13.17), fewest blocks allowed per set (3rd - 1.99), fewest aces allowed per set (T2nd - 1.26) aces per set (4th - 1.69) and total aces (1st - 191).Â
The Zips will see Ruby Klusman (Morehead State), Jordan Aeschliman (West Lyon HS), Maureen Mathews (West Virginia State), Jessie Musselman (Bishop Watterson HS), Jaryn Morgan (Lynn), Lauren Wilson (New Castle HS), Lyndi Wolf (Fremont Ross HS), Masa Prascevic (School of Economics) and Katelyn Crofts (Jacksonville State) join the ranks for the 2025 season while Vanessa Del Real, Sarah Bettis, Martina Villani, Reilly Chausse, Payton Evans,Gabby Brissett, Delaney Gash and Chidera Ozoh return from the previous campaign.Â
The Zips were picked to finish 10th in the MAC Preseason Poll while Bowling Green was tabbed to finish first after picking up 10 first-place votes.
SCOUTING REPORT
NC State:Â North Carolina State ended the 2024 season with a 16-13 overall record and an 11-9 record in the ACC. The Wolfpack ended their season in the NCAA Tournament against Florida where they lost 3-0 after winning back-to-back matches to conclude the regular season.
Amanda Rice led NC State in kills (366) and points (437.5) the past season. Naomi Cabello was the leader in assists (678) while Skye Stokes was the leader in aces (45) and digs (413). Jada Allen was the Wolfpack's leader in blocks (111).
Rice was also named to the All-ACC Second Team in 2024, her second All-ACC honor of her career.
The Wolfpack were picked to finish 10th in the ACC with 134 points while Pittsburgh was tabbed to place first with 279 points, 10 first-place votes, in the ACC Preseason Poll.
Green Bay: Green Bay finished the 2024 season with a 16-17 overall record and an 11-7 record in the Horizon League, which featured a 3-2 defeat to Cleveland State in the Horizon League Championship Final. It was the second consecutive year the Phoenix have been HL Tournament runner-ups.
Katie Schultz was the leader in kills (410) and points (434) for the Phoenix last season. Calli Gentry was the leader in assists (1180) while Emma Best led the team in aces (46). Abby Gardner led the way in digs (507) while Diane Pichelman was the leader in blocks (104).
Schultz was named to the All-Horizon League First Team while Gentry earned Second Team Honors and Pichelman earned Third Team Honors and was named to the All-Freshman Team.
The Phoenix were selected to finish third in the Horizon League preseason poll with 80 points and one first place vote.
Army:Â The Black Knights finished the 2024 season with a 16-12 overall record and a 10-6 record in the Patriot League. Army advanced to the Patriot League Championship Finals where it fell 3-2 to Colgate.
Army was led by Kingsley Wallace in kills (320) and points (374) the past season. Juliette Myrick was the leader in assists (796) while Chloe Murakami held the lead in aces (43). Mackenzie Lynch led the Black Knights in digs (360) and Tatum Grimes was the leader in blocks (132).
Wallace and Mackenzie Lynch were named to the All-Patriot League First Team while Myrick and Murakami were named to the Second Team.
Army was picked to finish second in the Patriot League Preseason Poll after picking up 53 points and one first-place vote. Mackenzie Lynchwas also named to the All-Patriot League Preseason Team.
Leaders In The MAC (2024)
Akron was in the top-5 in the MAC at the end of its 2024 season for points per set (4th - 16.77), total points (2nd- 1894.5), total assists (1st - 1423), assists per set (2nd - 12.59), total kills (2nd - 1488), kills per set (4th - 13.17), fewest blocks allowed per set (3rd - 1.99), fewest aces allowed per set (T2nd - 1.26) aces per set (4th - 1.69) and total aces (1st - 191).Â
Individually, Akron saw Karleighana Jones rank second in hitting percentage (.402), seventh in total blocks (104) and ninth in blocks per set (.95). Lauren Baker ranked fourth in total kills (363), fifth in kills per set (3.46), fifth in total points (412) and sixth in points per set (3.97). Emanouela Christodoulou was sixth in total kills (319) and ninth in kills per set (3.22). Vanesa Del Real was eighth in total digs (394),10th in digs per set (3.49), fifth in aces (37) and sixth in aces per set (.33). Eliska Vytiskova was fourth in total assists (893), seventh in assists per set (7.90), third in total aces (39) and fourth in aces per set (.40).
What's Next?
The Zips return to Ohio to battle Cleveland State on the road (Sep. 3) before hosting ETSU (Sep. 5) and American (Sep.6) at James A. Rhodes Arena
