Kent State’s volleyball team went 0-3 this past week to open up Mid-American Conference (MAC) play, making their overall record 4-10 on the season. 

KSU opened their weekend Friday with a matchup against Buffalo (12-2). 

This is the second losing streak of three or more games this season.

It was a tough matchup, as Buffalo holds the number one rank within the MAC conference. 

In the last two seasons, UB is 2-0 against Kent, with both games being 3-0 sweeps against the Flashes. 

The game was close to start off the first set, with the Bulls taking a 9-8 lead at the beginning. 

Buffalo took an 18-12 lead before KSU went on a run to decrease the lead and make the score 19-16. 

The Flashes made another four-point run, but it was not enough to slow down UB, and the Bulls took the first set 25-20. 

In the second set, the Flashes made a strong start and built a four-point lead on the Bulls, making the score 13-9. 

Buffalo would continue and went on a seven-point run of their own, making the score the closest it had been all set, at 18-17 in favor of KSU. 

Kent State returned the favor and went on a 5-1 run, solidifying the score at 23-18. 

Unfortunately, Buffalo then went on an 8-1 run to close out and win the set 26-24, taking a 2-0 lead on the sets against Kent. 

Coach Haley Eckerman also weighed in on the match and her team. 

“I think that we just didn’t execute our plan,” she said. “When we did, we did well, putting the ball in the center and getting [Buffalo] to pass out of their system so they couldn’t get their middles involved.” 

The third set was controlled by Buffalo. 

The Bulls got out to an early lead, going up 17-5 mid-way through the set. 

This was the biggest deficit that KSU has faced or came up against so far this season. 

The Flashes did go on a 7-4 run of their own, making the score at this point 21-12.

This run was not enough to stop the Bulls, as UB closed out the third and final set, winning 25-14. 

Game 2

The Flashes got out to an early start in the first set, making the score 8-5. The Bulls then made a run of their own, making the score 11-8 in the Bull’s favor. 

The game remained close, as both teams continued to go on scoring runs of their own, and KSU was only down one with the score being 13-12. 

Buffalo then went on an 8-2 run, pushing the score to 21-14. 

Kent State began to make a run of their own, but they were too far behind and lost the first set 25-19. 

Set two was met with a more confident Kent State side. The game was very close throughout the set, with the biggest lead only being up four points. 

KSU maintained a lead throughout the set, and Buffalo never saw the lead. 

The team remained strong and was able to close out the second set with a win, with the score being 25-23. 

With the game going back and forth, KSU looked to rely on their sophomore outside hitter, Mackenzie McGuire. 

She led both teams with kills at 19 on the match and was the main look on offense for KSU.

“It’s awesome that we can get her going,” Eckerman said, “but we’ve got to get to where we can get her some help.”

“She has over 500 swings on the season already, and we just started conference play. She was exhausted from putting it all out there, and it also goes to show the type of player she is for the team.” 

Set three was more of the same story: an extremely close game with minimal points differing the two sides. 

The game was tied at 10-10 before the Flashes made an impressive run, putting the team up 17-11.

The set remained in Kent’s control until the end, with KSU winning 25-19 and going up 2-1 on sets. 

In set four, something shifted from the Buffalo team. 

The team came out fast and strong, taking a 12-8 lead early in the set. Kent State cut down the lead to 12-11 before UB would continue on its way to a 7-2 run, making the score 19-13. 

With the lead being too large, Buffalo was able to close out the fourth set comfortably, winning the set 25-17 and pushing the game to the fifth and final set. 

Kent started the set up 2-0 before the Bulls bounced back and took a 6-3 lead. 

Buffalo would continue and went on a 6-4 run, making the score 12-7. 

UB closed out the set on a 3-0 run and won the set 15-7 and the game 3-2. 

Game 3

The Flashes traveled to Athens to face off against Ohio University (7-8, 2-1 in MAC) for their third Mid-American Conference matchup. 

OU started quickly, taking a four-point lead early, and were up 8-4.

KSU kept the pressure on the Bobcats and made a comeback, bringing the score to 15-14 in OU’s favor. 

Ohio then finished the first set on a 10-5 run, winning the first set with a score of 25-19. 

Going into set two, Kent State grabbed an early lead with a score of 6-5. 

The Flashes would continue and go on a 5-1 run, increasing the lead to five points. 

The Bobcats were able to go on a 10-5 run, evening the score at 16-16.

OU would then close out the second set on a 9-1 run, winning the set comfortably 25-17 and taking a 2-0 lead in the match.

Ohio did not slow down after this, and to open up set three, took an 11-4 lead in the match. 

The teams would continue to go back and forth, with, at one point, Kent decreasing the lead to 19-14 in favor of OU. 

The game would finish with the Bobcats going on a 6-3 run, closing out the third and final set with a score of 25-17 and 3-0 on sets. 

Looking Ahead

KSU will continue with MAC play, taking on Akron (6-7, 1-1 in MAC) on Thursday at 6 p.m. and Friday at 6 p.m. 

Kent is 6-1 in the last seven matchups against the Zips, going back to 2019. 

In these games, the Flashes have gone 18-7 on sets throughout these matches. 

Ethan Madden is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].