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Zips Rally From 2-0 Deficit to Take Down American in 5 sets
September 06 | Women's Volleyball
AKRON, Ohio - The Akron volleyball team fought back from a 2-0 hole to secure a comeback five-set victory (14-25, 22-25, 25-18, 25-23, 15-13) against the American Eagles Saturday at home at James A Rhodes Arena.
The out-of-conference victory improved Akron's overall record to 4-2 on the season.
The Zips' offense was paced by Maureen Mathews, who finished with 20 kills on the day. Jordyn Aeschliman added 14 and Lyndi Wolf chipped in with 10 as part of a balanced Akron attack. Sarah Bettis added a career-high nine kills to the Zips' offense. Defensively, Akron had two players reach double figures in digs as Vanessa Del Real had 17 and Reilly Chausse had 13. Martina Villani set up the Zips with a career-high 46 assists against the Eagles.
Game Notes
» Akron dropped the first two sets of the match before rallying to win the final three.
» Akron had three players in double figures in kills.
» Del Real had a team-high four aces in the win.
» Akron served up five aces on the way to a fourth-set victory.
» Mathews had a match-high 20 kills for Akron.
» Akron got a match-high 17 digs from Del Real.
» Akron attackers were helped by a match-high 46 assists from Villani.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Zips fell behind early, dropping a tough first set 25-14. Akron trailed by as many as 11 points as American grabbed the advantage for good at 13-12 in a set that was tied up six times before the Eagles took control.
SET 2 | Akron then dropped set two 25-22 to fall behind in the match two sets to none. The Zips fought back from a seven-point 8-1 deficit, but American hung on to take the set.
SET 3 | After losing sets one and two, Akron rallied to grab set three and make it a 2-1 match. The Zips took control of the set early when the score was 3-2 and never trailed to win 25-18. Akron led by eight points at 24-16 before finishing off the stanza. The Akron offense also got a boost from four aces in the stanza.
SET 4 | Akron continued their comeback, winning the fourth set 25-23 to bring the match level at two sets apiece. A fantastic serving performance helped Akron earn a victory in a set where they totaled five aces. The Zips opened up a 7-0 lead in the stanza and coasted to victory from there.
SET 5 | Akron dropped the first two sets, but put together an epic rally to win the last three sets, culminating in a 15-13 fifth-set victory, and take the match 3-2. The Zips took the lead for good at 14-13 in a set that showcased three lead changes before the Zips took over in the second half of the stanza.
What's Next?
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.
