Flashes end the season with losses

Amanda Vasil

If it wasn’t over before, it’s definitely over now.

The Kent State volleyball team fell this weekend to Dayton and Xavier at the A-10/Mid-American Conference Thanksgiving Classic held at Dayton.

The Flashes (9-22, 4-12 MAC) started the weekend against host Dayton (24-9), in which Kent State fell 3-0 with scores of 30-21, 30-21 and 30-20.

Although none of the Flashes reached double-digits in kills, three players tied for the most kills in the match. Freshmen redshirts Vaiva Laniauskas and Ashley Feutz, as well as sophomore Anne Zakelj, hit eight kills each.

Sophomore Anja Knabe-Paulsen led the Flashes with 30 assists. Laniauskas posted 11 digs, while sophomore libero Laura Jensen contributed with eight digs.

The Flashes did manage to out-block Dayton, as Kent State recorded seven blocks to Dayton’s two. Junior Sarah Wilber recorded four blocks, while Zakelj registered five.

Kent State closed out the tournament and the season with a 3-0 loss to Xavier (21-11), with scores of 30-22, 30-22 and 30-26.

Zakelj led Kent State’s offense with 11 kills and a .346 hitting average. She also contributed with three service aces and eight digs.

Feutz and Laniauskas added offensively with 12 and nine kills, respectively.

Knabe-Paulsen guided the Flashes with 33 assists, while Jensen posted a match-best 17 digs.

Xavier held Kent State to .101 hitting and four blocks, taking the match with .250 hitting and eight blocks.

Contact volleyball reporter Amanda Vasil at [email protected].