The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Eastern Kentucky
Volleyball Travels to Kentucky For Three Matches This Weekend
September 11 | Women's Volleyball
AKRON, Ohio - Akron travels to Richmond, Ky., to battle Eastern Kentucky, Northern Kentucky and Texas-Rio Grande Valley in the Geri Polvino Invitational from September 12-13.
How To Follow The Action
Eastern Kentucky (Friday): Video | Stats
Northern Kentucky (Saturday): No Video | Stats
Texas-Rio Grande Valley (Saturday): No Video | Stats
Stat Leaders
Akron: Kills: Maureen Mathews (102) | Assists: Martina Villani (207) | Points: Maureen Mathews (108.5) | Aces: Vanessa Del Real (16) | Digs: Vanessa Del Real (92) | Blocks: Two Tied (23)
Eastern Kentucky: Kills: AG Hynes (90) | Assists: Emilee Hill (155) | Points: AG Hynes (99.5) | Aces: Addison Burke (14) Digs: Cassidy Trahan (109) | Blocks: Two Tied (22.0)
Northern Kentucky: Kills: Sydney Bray (56) | Assists: Abby Pickard (149) | Points: Sydney Bray (72.5) | Aces: Allison Risley (11) Digs: Lucy Cluxton (119) | Blocks: Ivey Stocks (30)
Texas-Rio Grande Valley: Kills: Martina Franco (70) | Assists: Isabella Constantini (151) | Points: Martina Franco (76) | Aces: Isabella Constantini (4) |
Digs: Celianiz Cabranes (99) | Blocks: Three Tied (8)
A Look At The Series
Eastern Kentucky: Akron Trails 2-12 | Norton vs Eastern Kentucky: First Meeting
First Played:Nov. 22, 1981 (Akron 0, EKU 3)
Last Played: Sept. 19, 2014 (Akron, 3, EKU 0)
Northern Kentucky: Akron Trails 0-1 | Norton vs Northern Kentucky: First Meeting
First/Last Played: Sept. 15, 2012 (Akron 1, NKU 3)
Texas-Rio Grande Valley: Akron Trails 0-1 | Norton vs Texas-Rio Grande Valley: 0-1
First/Last Played: Sept. 7, 2024 (Akron 2, UTRGV 3)
Common Opponents
Eastern Kentucky: Miami (OH) (MAC), Northern Kentucky (Horizon), Texas-Rio Grande (Southland), Ball State (MAC)
Northern Kentucky: Western Michigan (MAC), Eastern Kentucky (ASUN), Texas-Rio Grande Valley (Southland), Miami (OH) (MAC),
Cleveland State (Horizon), Youngstown State (Horizon), Green Bay (Horizon)
Texas-Rio Grande Valley: Northern Kentucky (Horizon), Eastern Kentucky (ASUN)
Zips At A Glance
Akron heads into the Geri Polvino Invitational riding a three-game winning streak after taking down Cleveland State, East Tennessee State and American last week.
The Zips will face host Eastern Kentucky, along with Northern Kentucky and Texas-Rio Grande Valley in Richmond, Ky.
This will be the first time the Zips have faced EKU since 2014, while it'll be the first time since 2012 that Akron has played NKU. Akron and UTRGV battled last season in Akron, Ohio.
On the attack, the Zips saw three players record 30 or more kills on the week. Maureen Mathews led the Zips with 48, while Jordyn Aeschliman and Delaney Gash recorded 29 and 34. Martina Villani paced the Zips in assists with 121 on the week, which featured a career-high 46 against American on Saturday. Aeschliman led the Zips at the net with 13 total blocks, while Lyndi Wolf and Chidera Ozoh both recorded 12 each. Vanessa Del Real led the way with 48 digs and 11 aces.
So far this season, Mathews leads Akron in kills (102) and points (108.5). Villani is the leader in assists (207) while Del Real leads the way in digs (92) and aces (16). Wolf and Ozoh share the lead for the most blocks on the season (23).
SCOUTING REPORT
Eastern Kentucky: Eastern Kentucky enters the Geri Polvino Invitational with a 5-2 record after recently defeating Marshall on the road, 3-2.
AG Hynes had a match-high 19 kills. She made only four errors in 44 attempts for a .341 attack percentage. Emilee Hill recorded a triple-double, finishing with 16 kills, 31 assists and 21 digs. Addison Burke had 14 kills, 14 digs and three aces.
On the season, Hynes leads EKU in kills (90) and points (99.5). Hill leads the way in assists (155) while Burke holds the lead for aces (14). Cassidy Trahan is the leader in digs (109), while two Colonels are tied for the lead in blocks (22).
The Colonels rank 2nd in the ASUn in points per set (16.75), 1st in opp. hitting percentage (.160), 2nd in hitting percentage (.258), 1st in assists per set (12.79), 1st in fewest kills allowed per set (10.82), 1st in kills per set (13.25) and 2nd in fewest blocks allowed per set (1.79).
EKU was picked to finish third in the ASUN Conference preseason poll while Carson Ledford was named to the All-ASUN Preseason Team.
Northern Kentucky: Northern Kentucky stands at 2-4 this season after competing in a pair of tournaments. The Norse went 1-2 at the USI Invitational, winning 3-2 against Valparaiso while falling 3-0 to Saint Louis and Southern Indiana. NKU also went 1-2 at the Indiana Invitational, winning 3-1 against Western Michigan while falling 3-0 to Indiana and 3-2 to Southeast Missouri State.
Along with Western Michigan and Akron, NKU will also battle Miami (OH) from the MAC.
Northern Kentucky was selected to finish sixth in the Horizon League Preseason Poll and returns All-Freshman Team selection Allison Risley.
The Norse are currently led by Sydney Bray in kills (56) and points (72.5) while Abby Pickard leads the way in assists(149). Allison Risley is the leader in aces (11) while Lucy Cluxton is the leader in digs (119) and Ivey Stocks leads the way in blocks (30).
Texas-Rio Grande Valley: The Vaqueros currently hold a 1-4 record as they travel to Richmond, Ky. UTRGV's lone win of the season came at the Grand Canyon Invitational when they defeated Long Island University 3-2.
Most recently, UTRGV went 0-3 at the Southwest Showdown, falling to Texas State (3-1) and UTEP (3-0). Libero Celianiz Cabranes was selected to the Southwest Showdown All-Tournament Team. Cabranes totaled 28 digs as the Vaqueros battled Texas State and UTEP. She had 11 digs and two assists against Texas State and followed that with 17 digs and two assists against UTEP. Cabranes was speedy covering the court and kept UTRGV in competitive rallies with her defensive efforts.
This was the second consecutive season Cabranes made the Southwest Showdown All-Tournament Team.
Akron and UTRGV battled last season at the James A. Rhodes Arena, with the Vaqueros coming away with a 3-2 victory in the inaugural meeting.
So far this season, Martina Franco leads the way in kills (70) and points (76). Isabella Constantini is the leader in assists (151) and aces (4). Celianiz Cabranes leads the way in digs (99) while three Vaqueros are tied for the lead in blocks (8).
Milestones To Watch For (NCAA STats only)
- Vanessa Del Real is 80 digs away from 1,000 as a Zip.
- Del Real is 549 digs from tying Jennifer Borton (1992-95) for 10th in all-time digs (1,469).
- Del Real is 33 aces away from tying Ashley Lewis (1997-2000) for 10th in all-time aces (136).
- Maureen Mathews is 11 blocks away from 100 career blocks
- Martina Villani is 8 assists away from 500 as a Zip
New Career Highs (Sept. 3-6)
- Jordyn Aeschliman set career highs in kills (15, at Cleveland State), assists (1, vs ETSU), digs (3, vs ETSU) and blocks (7, vs ETSU).
- Sarah Bettis set career highs in kills (9, vs American), assists (1, vs American), aces (1, at Cleveland State), digs (2, vs American) and blocks (1, vs American).
- Delaney Gash set a career high in assists (4, at Cleveland State).
- Maureen Mathews set a career high in aces (2, vs American).
- Martina Villani set career highs in kills (3, at Cleveland State) and assists (46, vs American).
- Lyndi Wolf set career highs in kills (10, vs American) and digs (4, at Cleveland State).
Leaders In The MAC
Akron ranks in the top-five in the MAC in total points (4th - 413), hitting % (5th - .201), total assists (4th - 298), total blocks (4th - 50), blocks per set (5th - 1.92), total aces (4th - 1.69), aces per set (5th - 1.69), total digs (5th - 347), digs per set (5th - 13.35), opp hitting % (5th - .188), opp assists per set (3rd - 10.35), opp kills per set (3rd - 11.04) and opp digs per set (4th - 12.42).
Individually, the Zips see Martina Villani 5th in total assists (207). Maureen Mathews is ranked 4th in total kills (102) and kills per set (3.92) while ranking 5th in total points (108.5). Vanessa Del Real is ranked 1st in total aces (16) and 4th in aces per set (.62).
AMONG THE BEST IN THE NCAA
As a team, the Zips rank 39th in the NCAA in assists (298), 77th in digs (347), 46th in kills (319) and 43rd in aces (44).
Individually, Maureen Mathews ranks 76th in the NCAA in kills per set (3.92), 28th in total points (108.5) and 15th in total kills (102). Vanessa Del Real ranks 49th in aces per set (.62), 11th in total aces (16) and 93rd in total digs (92). Martina Villani ranks 52nd in total assists (52).
What's Next?
Akron returns to the state of Ohio to face Youngstown State on the road (Sept.18) while hosting Cleveland State to round out the non-conference schedule.
