After a 2-1 weekend in Maryland last week, the Kent State volleyball team took a trip to play in the North Dakota/North Dakota State tournament this weekend.
The outing was largely successful, as the Flashes won two out of three and continue to see improvement after a disappointing 2024 season.
Thursday against Texas-San Antonio
To kick off this week of action, KSU played the UTSA Roadrunners.
The first and second sets were almost identical to each other. Both sets were back-and-forth to start, and both sets saw the winning team pull away late. The first set went to the Roadrunners, as the team pulled away from KSU to win 25-18. The Flashes flipped the script and won 25-17 in the second set to even things up.
Entering the third set with a 1-1 tie, UTSA jumped ahead 7-1 to start this important set and held firm to win 25-20.
Potentially facing a loss to open the weekend, the Flashes showed great resilience, which has been a common theme throughout this season. It started with KSU pulling away late to win the fourth set 25-20.
The fifth set, which is essentially overtime in college volleyball, featured the teams playing to 15 instead of 25. The Flashes used a service ace from sophomore libero Hailey Brenner to jump ahead 3-2 and never looked back, winning the set 15-12 and the match 3-2.
“It showed how good our team could be if we stick to the game plan and fight through adversity,” coach Haley Eckerman said.
Friday against North Dakota
After officially improving its win total from last season with three wins, the Flashes attempted to get back to .500 with a contest against winless North Dakota.
KSU used an early service ace to jump out to a 3-1 lead in the first set before using a 13-2 run to pull away in the first set. The Flashes held control and won the first set 25-16.
Set two went back and forth from the beginning to the end of the match, as neither team was able to build a lead larger than three. Ultimately, a kill by Sophomore middle backer Nadia Miller secured the 25-23 set win for the Flashes.
Set three saw the Fighting Hawks maintain leads but never truly pull away, which allowed KSU to stay in the mix. Once the Flashes fell behind 17-12, the team used a 6-0 run to claim the lead and wouldn’t relinquish. A run of four straight points would result in a 25-20 set victory and a 3-0 clean sweep.
“The game plan was to start the match strong and finish strong,” Eckerman said.
The win placed the Flashes at .500 with a 4-4 record.
The Flashes used a balanced effort with four players averaging at least seven kills and three players recording eight, the team-high.
Saturday against North Dakota State
The volleyball team wrapped up its weekend against North Dakota State and looked to get above .500 for the first time since a 2022 loss against Ball State knocked them to .500 in a season they’d eventually finish 13-16.
Overall, the theme of this match was not closing out.
The Flashes started each set up by at least two points, jumping ahead 2-0 to start the match and 3-0 in sets two and three.
Still, the Flashes weren’t able to build any lasting momentum; the team allowed a 7-0 run in the first set to fall behind and ended up losing 25-20.
The momentum the Flashes had built in set two would evaporate even quicker, allowing a 12-2 run to fall behind 12-5. The Flashes were able to get to within two, but slipped at the end to fall 25-19 and behind by two sets.
In set three, the matchup remained a back-and-forth battle with neither team pulling away until the end, when North Dakota State used an 8-2 run to put them on the verge of victory. KSU pulled to within three, but the Bison were able to close out the set and win 3-0.
A hitting percentage of .120 plagued the Flashes. Other low numbers included junior Christina Vigil’s lowest assist output of the season, with just 19 assists.
Eckerman said the loss proved that the team still has to improve in some areas.
“I’m glad we are working through figuring these things out before conference play starts,” she said.
Notables
Miller served excellently this weekend with six total service aces, including four against North Dakota State.
Freshman outside hitter Macie Moreland has emerged as a key bench contributor, tying for second in kills with 62.
Additionally, freshman defensive specialist and libero Catie Patterson has contributed well in the digs category with 52.
“They play with so much poise and are constantly wanting to learn how to get better,” Eckerman said.
Up next
KSU will wrap up non-conference play in Northeast Ohio with two contests at Cleveland State Thursday and Youngstown State Friday.
Last season, both teams swept the Flashes by a score of 3-0.
Stone O’Bryant is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].