The Kent State volleyball team will open up its 2012 Mid-American Conference campaign this week as it hits the road and travels to Miami (OH) for their matchup against the RedHawks 7 p.m. on Friday. The Flashes will be back on the court the following night as they will play their second conference game of the year at Bowling Green.

After dropping all three matches the previous weekend at the Butler Invitational, junior setter Aleksandra Nowak can’t wait to get back out there in MAC play.

“I can’t wait for the MAC to start,” Nowak said. “It’s a lot different than all of our preseason tournaments. I love it.”

Jenny Buczek, sophomore setter and defensive specialist, is also ready to get conference play underway.

“We’re very excited for conference play,” Buczek said. “This year we want to prove that we are a much better team than last year, and that we’ve came a long way.”

The Flashes will go into Friday’s match with a 3-9 record on the season. Their first opponent, the Miami RedHawks, will go into the match with an overall record of 5-8. Last year, the Flashes and the RedHawks split the two matches they played against each other.

Kent’s second MAC opponent of the week, Bowling Green, will head into its weekend matches with a 4-7 record. Last year, the Falcons took both matchups against the Flashes.

To start conference play on a positive note, Buczek knows the team will have to play to the best of its abilities.

“We have to play our game and everyone has to do their job,” Buczek said. “Miami lost one of their top hitters, but they still have a lot of other options and they’re still a tough team. Bowling Green has very good hitters, but we have the defense to play with them.”

Nowak agreed with Buczek that defense is the key for the Flashes.

“We have to work on our defense and ball control, if we do that this weekend, good things will happen,” Nowak said.

The Flashes will be back in action Thursday against the Ohio Bobcats. They will return home to the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center Sept. 29against MAC opponent Central Michigan.

Contact Drew Jones at [email protected].