The Akron volleyball team fell 3-2 in a five-set thriller to Eastern Michigan Eagles on Saturday night at James A. Rhodes Arena.
Akron's offense was led by junior Faith Johnson, who floored a season-high 21 kills while hitting at a .333 clip. Senior Teagan Ochaya followed with 15 kills, while sophomore Karleighana Jones connected with nine kills and sophomores Ellen Kinnaird and Genevieve Hara each had eight kills.
EMU claimed first set 25-21, Akron responded by hitting .548 (18 of 31) as a team to generate a 25-19 second-set win. Ochaya led the charge with five kills and hitting .556, while Hara followed with four kills and hit for a .667 percentage. Jones, Kinnaird and Johnson tallied three kills each.
With the match tied (1-1), the Zips built a 10-4 lead and led by as many as nine points (18-9), before closing out the third set 25-23. Akron continued to hit at a high rate, posting a .455 (17 of 33) percentage. Johnson led the attack with five kills at a .556 season-best rate. Ochaya followed with four kills, while Jones and sophomore Matalasi Danielson had three kills each.The Eagles forced a fifth set with a 25-14 triumph in the fourth frame, limiting Akron nine kills on 40 attempts with eight errors. Eastern Michigan carried the momentum into the final stanza and flew to a 5-1 advantage, forcing Akron to use a timeout. The Eagles increased the lead to 7-1 before Johnson put down Akron's second point.
Jones tallied three of the Zips' eight blocks, registering one solo stop and four assisted blocks. Junior Lauren Latka anchored the defense with 20 digs, while Ochaya and Johnson recorded 12 and 10, respectively.
Akron is scheduled to be back in action on the road at Bowling Green on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 4-5. The Friday's match is slated for a 6 p.m. start followed by a 4 p.m. Saturday match. Fans can follow the action on ESPN3 or via live stats on GoZips.com.
Original source can be found here
Alerts Sign-up