Flashes end road trip in three-set loss to Miami University
Offensive woes tripped up Kent State volleyball this weekend as they failed to win a set versus Bowling Green State University and Miami University.
The latest loss came Saturday, as the Flashes (10-9, 2-4) fell to the Redhawks (10-8, 3-3) in three sets. Led by senior middle blocker Liz Reikow with nine kills, the Kent State offense never caught fire in critical moments, and the defense only accumulated one block.
“We couldn’t counteract (their) defensive moves with our offense,” said coach Don Gromala. “We found some holes in their block…but teams are getting too many kills against us right now.”
Miami entered the match with a five-set loss to Ohio University on their minds, and showed how they were able to compete with the defending Mid-American Conference champions: An offensive attack led by outside hitter Annie Reiswig and a troublesome tandem in middle blockers Jenny Ingle and Paige Hill.
“I don’t know that (the middles) was the issue,” Gromala said. “They have a balanced offense. Their outsides at times were scoring too. We’ve got to get better and it’s going to start with our block.”
Reiswig registered a team-high 11 kills, while the opposite outside hitter, Olivia Rusek, had eight of her own. Ingle and Hill combined for 15 kills.
The Flashes challenged Miami throughout the match, dropping the first and third sets, 25-17, but lost a narrow second set, 28-26.
“It was a good set, it was executed well,” Gromala said. “They just happened to be at the right place at the right time.”
Kent State also struggled Friday with Bowling Green State University, dropping all three of the sets they played.
The Flashes will try to improve a 1-5 road record next weekend for another pair of conference matchups. A Friday bout with the University of Toledo and a Saturday matchup versus Ball State University will test Kent State. The Rockets are seeking their first conference win of the season while Ball State posts a 4-1 conference record.
Jimmy Miller is the volleyball beat reporter for The Kent Stater. Contact him at [email protected]