The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
5-2,0-0MAC
Eastern Kentucky
5-3,0-0ASUN
Zips Defeat Eastern Kentucky - Gash Records Career-High 25 Kills
September 12 | Women's Volleyball
RICHMOND, KY - Powered by a career-high 25 kills from Delaney Gash, the Akron volleyball team fought back after losing set one to secure a 3-1 road win (17-25, 26-24, 25-21, 25-22) against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels on Friday to begin the Geri Polvino Invitational.
The out-of-conference win improved Akron's overall record to 5-2 on the season.
The Zips' offense was paced by Gash, who finished with 25 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .278, and by Maureen Mathews, who had 15 while hitting .275. Defensively, Akron had two players reach double figures in digs as Reilly Chausse had 14 and Martina Villani had a career-high 13. Chidera Ozoh helped the Zips at the net with four blocks to go with her career-high six kills.
Villani notched her second double-double of the season, recording 40 assists to go with her 13 digs. Vanessa Del Real filled up the stat sheet for the Blue and Gold, supplying a career-high 11 assists, seven digs and four aces
Game Notes
» Del Real had a match-high four aces in the win.
» Akron never trailed on the way to winning the third set 25-21.
» Gash had a match-high 25 kills for Akron.
» Akron got a team-high 14 digs from Chausse.
» Akron attackers were helped by a match-high 40 assists from Villani.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Zips found themselves in an early hole, dropping a tough first set 25-17. Akron trailed by as many as eight points as Eastern Kentucky grabbed the advantage for good at 15-14 in a set that was tied up six times before the Colonels took over in the second half of the stanza.
SET 2 | Akron rallied after dropping the first set to take the second set 26-24, tying the match at 1-1. The Zips took the set powered by a strong performance on the attacking end. Akron registered a .349 attack percentage with 20 kills in the set win. After the lead changed hands three times, the Zips took control for good at 23-22 and rode that advantage to victory.
SET 3 | Akron went up 2-1 after defeating the Colonels in set three. The Zips scored first and never trailed in the set to earn a 25-21 victory. Akron opened up as much as a five-point lead at 8-3 before closing out the set, totaling 19 kills in the process. The Akron offense also got a boost from three aces in the stanza.
SET 4 | Akron finished off the match with a 25-22 fourth-set victory, winning their third set in a row. The Zips survived a back-and-forth set to win in a stanza that featured three lead changes and was tied 10 times. Neither team was able to grab a lead larger than four points along the way.
What's Next?
Akron concludes action in the Geri Polvino Invitational on Saturday, September 13, with matches against Northern Kentucky and Texas-Rio Grande Valley.
