MATCH STATS
- Akron def. Buffalo 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-15, 27-25)
- Akron moves to 6-9, 2-1 MAC; Buffalo falls to 9-5, 2-1 MAC
- Akron, Ohio
- Attendance: 511
- Box Score
AKRON, Ohio – Three players turned in double-digit kill tallies as Akron posted a four-set win over Buffalo on Thursday.
Junior outside hitter Kayla Gwozdz led the way with 13 kills, while redshirt junior right side hitter Madi Baer and redshirt senior middle blocker Jessica Kloehn added 10 apiece to lift the Zips to the win. Baer and sophomore middle Ashley Richardson notched four blocks each to pace the defense, while senior libero Aubrey Kozer pulled up a team-leading 18 digs. Freshman defensive specialist Taylor Sharrits (14), junior defensive specialist Abbey Pawlak (11) and freshman setter Emily Weigand (10) also posted double-digit dig efforts. Weigand also dished out 39 assists and helped the team to a .234 hitting effort.
Freshman outside Andrea Mitrovic downed a match-high 18 kills, followed by sophomore outside Polina Prokudina (16). Each rounded out a double-double with 16 and 15 digs respectively. Prokudina also added a team-best two aces, while Mitrovic put up a team-high three blocks alongside senior middle Cassie Shado. Mitrovic was tops in digs with 16, followed by junior libero Larra Bickelhaupt (15) and Prokudina.
Akron bested Buffalo in kills (53-47), aces (8-3), blocks (7-5) and hitting percentage (.234 to .161).
Buffalo struck early with 10-4 run to open the match. Five players notched kills and Akron aided the effort with five miscues. The Zips scored four straight, two on Bull errors, to cut the margin to two at 10-8. Buffalo cruised to a 17-11 advantage with a kill and a block by Prokudina and three Akron mistakes. The Zips turned the tables with a 12-3 run, vaulting ahead 23-20 as four errors and two blocks and a kill by Baer led the way. A service error put the Zips on the hill at 24-21, but a kill and a block by Mitrovic kept the set going. A hitting error ended the stanza at 25-23.
Buffalo led 15-8 midway through Set as Mitrovic downed five kills and Prokudina chipped in four. Akron scored six of the next eight as Gwozdz and Shelby Fulmer turned in two kills each to cut it to three at 17-14. The Bulls closed out a 25-18 win with an 8-4 run. A Zip hitting error capped the win after Prokudina registered two kills and an ace in the final stretch.
Akron turned a 6-4 deficit into an 11-7 lead in Set 3 with help from four Buffalo errors. The Zips went up by 10 at 23-13 including four aces, two by Weigand, one by Sharrits and one by Abbey Pawlak. Gwozdz also added three kills in the rally. The teams split the final four points of the set, with a Baer kill ending it at 25-15.
Richardson put down two kills as the Zips took a 6-2 lead in Set 4. Five Akron errors cut the margin to one at 9-8 and three more kept it close at 12-11. A Sharrits ace capped a 3-0 run, which gave Akron some cushion. Down 19-15 later on, Buffalo got kills from three different players to knot the score at 19. Kills by Mitrovic and Prokudina made it 21-all, then sparking a string of five ties, last at 25-all. Akron had two set-point tries at 24-23 and 25-24 thanks to a pair of Bull miscues. Putaways by Mitrovic and Megan Wernette thwarted the attempts, but kills by Baer and Kloehn gave Akron the 27-25 win and match.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy: Akron Athletics
The University of Akron volleyball team secured a 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-15, 27-25) road victory over Buffalo on Thursday night in Buffalo, N.Y.
The Zips improved to 6-9 overall and 2-1 in Mid-American Conference play, while the Bulls dropped to 9-5 in league action and 2-1 in the MAC.
“We had to overcome a number of uncontrollable situations tonight,” said head coach Tom Hanna. “We did a great job as a team to fight for a road MAC win.”
This marked the third consecutive year in which Akron registered a road victory at Buffalo.
Akron’s offense was led by junior Kayla Gwozdz (Temperance, Mich.) with 13 kills, followed closely by junior Madi Baer (Stow, Ohio) and senior Jessica Kloehn (Milwaukee, Wis.) with 10 kills each. The defense was paced by the play of senior Aubrey Kozer (Norton, Ohio), who had 18 digs, and freshman Taylor Sharrits (Concord, Ohio) with 14 digs. Freshman Emily Weigand(Burton, Ohio) led the match with four service aces, and 39 assists.
The two teams remained within striking distance of each other early in the first set until the Bulls struck with a 6-1 scoring run to assume an early 10-5 lead. Akron answered back with a 5-1 run of its own to cut Buffalo’s advantage down to two, 10-8. With the Zips trailing by as many as five, Akron’s offense ignited with the help of three Buffalo attack errors and a service ace, before a kill from Weigand tied the set at 18. Akron scored three-straight points off a Baer kill and two consecutive attack errors by Buffalo to secure the 25-23 set one victory.
In the second set, Buffalo got out to an early 6-2 lead, before the Zips cut the Bulls’ lead to one. Buffalo continued its offensive striking with a 7-2 run which extended its lead to 15-8. The Zips’ efforts continued to cut at the Bull’s lead with the use of an Akron 6-2 run to bring the Zips within three, 17-14. Buffalo’s scoring wouldn’t be stopped as it took the second set, 25-18.
The Zips’ offense dominated across the entire third set. With a 14-11, the Zips took off with a 9-2 run that gave UA a 23-13 lead. During the scoring run, Gwozdz and Kloehn connected on two kills each. An attack error on Buffalo put Akron at match point, before Baer completed a kill for the Zips 25-15 set three victory.
With UA leading two sets to one, the Zips’ offensive continued their hot striking and lead the fourth set 6-2. Buffalo threatened back with a 6-3 run that brought them within one, but Akron continued to pull away. With the Zips leading 18-15, the Bulls tied the set at 19 with the help of a 4-1 run. The two teams battled back-and-fourth with the score being tied five times. With the score even at 25 all, back-to-back kills from Baer and Kloehn scored the Zips’ last two points to secure the match victory 27-25.
Akron out-hit Buffalo 53 kills to 47 and had a .234 hitting percentage to Buffalo’s .161.
The Zips continue their road play traveling to Toledo, Ohio, as they take on Toledo on Saturday, at 5 p.m. at Savage Arena.
Courtesy: Buffalo Athletics
The University at Buffalo volleyball team suffered its first Mid-American Conference loss on Thursday night as the visiting Akron Zips came in to Alumni Arena to defeat UB, 3-1, in front of rowdy crowd of 511. The loss drops Buffalo to 9-5 on the season and 2-1 in MAC play.
The Zips took the contest 25-23, 18-25, 25-15, 27-25 as they outhit the Bulls .234 to .161. UB led 17-11 in the opening set before an 8-1 Akron run put the Zips ahead. UB fought off two set points, but the Zips took the first, 25-23.
Buffalo opened the second set on a 6-2 run scoring six straight points after Akron scored the first two. Amongst the six points were a pair of kills from both freshman Andrea Mitrovic and sophomore Polina Prokudina. Akron pulled back within 17-14 late, but a quick 8-4 run gave the Bulls the set, 25-18, tying the match up at 1-1.
Akron came out after the break and won the third set 25-15 to take the lead in the match and both teams had chances to pull out the fourth as it unfolded. The Zips led 19-15 in the fourth when Buffalo scored four straight points, capped off on a kill from Prokudina to tie it up at 19-19. Akron scored two straight, but UB answered with two of its own to tie it back at 21-21. Akron went on to take a 24-23 lead, but the Bulls fought off two set points and tied the set at 25-25 before Akron scored the final two points for the set and the match.
Mitrovic led the Bulls with a match-high 18 kills, while she also led the team with 16 digs and tied for the team-lead with three blocks, including a pair of solos. Prokudina added 16 kills and 11 digs.
Junior Megan Wernette finished the night with six kills and sophomore setter Scout McLerran had four kills, to go along with her 35 assists and seven digs.
Defensively, Larra Bickelhaupt finished with 15 digs, while Hannah Watson added five. Senior Cassie Shado tied for the team-lead with three blocks.
The Bulls struggled with errors on the night as they had 23 hitting errors, 10 service errors, and six blocking errors.
UB will now hit the road for the first time in conference play as they head to Ball State on Saturday evening. The Cardinals had their unblemished conference record ended tonight in a 3-0 loss at Toledo. Match time is set for 7pm and will air on ESPN3.
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