At the Seton Hall Classic, the Kent State Volleyball team picked up its first win of the season while also dropping the two other games the team played in the three-day, three-game tournament.
The Flashes took home their first win of the year on Friday against the New Jersey Institute of Technology (25-18, 25-17, 25-15).
Coach Haley Eckerman said the players “stuck with the original plan, and overall communication was better,” against NJIT.
Following the win Friday, the Flashes tournament play took a turn. They played a highly-contested five set game against the Sacred Heart University Pioneers (25-22, 25-23, 33-31, 28-26, 15-8), ultimately losing.
“We showed we have the heart,” Eckerman said.
The Flashes pushed the Pioneers to five sets after being down two sets to none. Errors ultimately still played a factor in these games, similar to the Flashes three game set last weekend — 60 total errors were committed by the Flashes last tournament, with 76 in this weekend’s tournament.
The last game of the tournament for the Flashes was played against the host, the Seton Hall Pirates. KSU picked up the first set against the Pirates before ultimately losing three sets to one (25-20, 25-18, 26-24, 25-11).
“Understanding when it’s okay to hit the ball,” and “winning the serving pass game,” were two focal points Eckerman will aim to fix with her team following the game against Seton Hall.
Senior outside hitter Karina Salinas showed up in a big way for the Flashes over the weekend, posting 26 kills, three aces, and four assists.
“How do you want your legacy to be remembered?” Eckerman said on Salinas. “Do you want to be complacent or do you want to be remembered?”
The Flashes are now 1-5 on the young season. They are now in a tie with Akron and Northern Illinois for last place in the Mid-American Conference.
Kent State will look to turn it around, with games against the Xavier Musketeers Sept. 13 and the Cincinnati Bearcats Sept. 14 coming up next on the schedule.
The Flashes will aim to leave their early season woes in the past on the road trip.
“You see more out of the windshield than the rearview mirror,” Eckerman said.
Gage Wellman is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected]
