Kent State’s woman’s volleyball team will host a pair of MAC Conference opponents to close out the regular season this weekend.

Entering this week’s action with a season record of 17-9, the Flashes take on its rival, the University of Akron, at 5 p.m. on Friday at the M.A.C Center before playing at 3 p.m. game on Saturday against the University of Buffalo.

As it stands, Kent State is currently tied for first place in the MAC East Division with Ohio University (21-6) after the Flashes won 10 of their last 11 games, all within the MAC, to improve their conference record to 11-3.

On Friday, the Flashes host the Zips (8-19), who bring with them a conference record of 2-12 and a four-game losing streak. Earlier in the season, Kent State traveled to Akron on Oct. 10 and swept the Zips in straight sets as both senior Kelly Hutchison and sophomore Kelsey Bittinger finished with double-digit kills.

Akron has struggled away from home, with the team posting a record of 4-6 when playing at an opponent’s court. 

On Saturday, Kent State will play a day game at the M.A.C Center against the University at Buffalo. The Bulls, who own a record of 7-19 overall, including 6-8 in the MAC Conference, played and lost to the University of Miami (OH) on last Saturday. When Kent State last played Miami, they swept the RedHawks 3-0 in Oxford.

To this point, the Flashes have recorded 257 more kills, 246 more assists and 314 more digs than Buffalo as a team. The last time the Flashes and Bulls squared off, Oct. 9, Kent State claimed a 3-1 victory in New York.

Sophomore Challen Geraghty received MAC East Defensive Player of the Week honors after a stellar performance this past weekend against Ohio University and Eastern Michigan University. 

Geraghty logged 63 digs over a two-game stretch including a match-high 39 digs against the Bobcats. She has received MAC defensive honors two other times this season.  

Jesse Runner is a sports reporter for The Kent Stater. Contact him at [email protected].