Desperately needing a win to keep pace in the Mid-American Conference standings, the Kent State volleyball team traveled to Oxford to take on the Miami Redhawks in a two-game series.
Thursday
Set one opened up with both teams trading points. Neither team was able to grasp a lead of more than two at the start.
This lasted until Miami was able to grab an 11-8 lead. Although the Redhawks weren’t able to pull away with a large lead, the team was able to maintain that lead throughout the rest of the set to win 25-21.
Sets two and three followed almost identical formulas of very close games throughout until a victor pulled away in the end. This set the stage for the Flashes to win set two 25-22, and the Redhawks flipping the score in set three.
With the Redhawks now facing a possible match win, the Flashes played to the back-and-forth theme the match took on, with both teams being about as even as it can get.
Similar to the Flashes victory in set two, the team used a late rally to pull away and force a tie-breaking set, winning 25-22.
Miami started the tie-breaking set off by claiming the first four points. KSU responded by claiming five of the next six points to tie the set. The Redhawks then pulled away to dispatch the Flashes 15-10.
The loss marked the team’s fourth consecutive loss after opening up the home slate with two consecutive wins.
Coach Haley Eckerman pointed to two moments in the match she felt made a difference.
“I think we kind of came out flat,” Eckerman said. “The fifth set too we kinda had that moment of coming out flat and trying to play catch-up.”
Friday
Looking to rebound after a five-set heartbreaker, the Flashes jumped ahead early, with senior outside hitter Mackenzie McGuire and freshman outside hitter Macie Moreland setting the tone.
KSU expanded on that lead until Miami climbed back into the set with a 4-1 run. Still, the Flashes were able to close on a kill from Moreland to win 25-19. It was her fourth kill of the set.
After a set one victory, the Flashes looked to continue the momentum and win a second set. The team got off to a hot start, building a 10-3 lead early and looking to cruise to a win.
KSU maintained that lead until the later part of the set where Miami stormed back to cut the lead to three, using runs of five points in a row to tie the set at 24. KSU snuffed out any further comeback attempt by scoring the next two points to win 26-24.
The set win in that fashion bucked a trend of late-set collapses that had hurt the Flashes in recent games.
Now up 2-0, the Flashes looked to go for its second sweep in MAC play, and earn the team’s first road conference win since beating Toledo in October of 2023.
Miami tried to slow those winning plans with a quick start to the set, jumping ahead in the early stages of set three. However, KSU responded to tie it before taking the lead.
After KSU grabbed the lead, the team appeared to be on the verge of running away with the set and sweeping, but the Redhawks grabbed a lead late in the set at a score of 20-19.
The Flashes then staved off the rally, completing the sweep and securing that elusive road conference win. It would be the team’s first sweep on the road in a conference game since a 2022 victory over Eastern Michigan.
Eckerman felt the team took care of their side and adjusted well to what the game film from Thursday showed.
“We really just watched how we were successful, how we scored and we took that in and came out and played a little bit smarter as far as hitting wise, managing our errors,” she said.
Standouts
McGuire was brilliant all weekend, having two double-doubles and getting back to the kill numbers she put up during non-conference play. She had 17 kills and 19 digs on Thursday and 19 kills and 13 digs on Friday.
Moreland also shined well this weekend, having the best weekend of her young career. She finished with 28 combined kills through both games.
Lastly, sophomore Hailey Brenner, who made the switch to the libero jersey this weekend, made the most of increased court time, with 25 digs in Thursday’s match and 13 in Friday’s sweep.
“She’s a kid that we saw we needed her on the court as much as possible,” Eckerman said. “She is doing just a great job at playing and also bringing some energy to the court nonstop.”
Around the MAC
Halfway through the conference season, the Flashes sit at 3-6, which is in the bottom-three teams of the league. However, there’s a cluster between the sixth spot in the league and where KSU sits. Ball State is undefeated at 9-0 in conference play while the preseason favorite Bowling Green sits in third at 6-3.
Statistically, the Flashes are doing well in limiting opponent’s hitting percentage, limiting them to the fourth lowest at .170. Offensively, however, the Flashes are third worst in the MAC with a .160 hitting percentage.
KSU has also been efficient in the blocking game, ranking second in blocks per set at 2.58.
Overall Eckerman is pleased with where the team is at, in spite of going through a four game losing streak, mentioning the win Friday night and feeling like they’re understanding what it takes to win.
“I think we’re getting better,” she said. “We’re peaking at the right time.”
Up next
KSU will return to the MACC to host two games against the Western Michigan Broncos. WMU sits in fourth place in the standings, so the matchups will be key as the Flashes look to separate themselves from the cluster of teams on the outside looking in.
The matches will take place Thursday and Friday and will begin at 6 p.m.
Stone O’Bryant is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].