Written by: Parker Perry

Finding another gear was essential for the Akron volleyball team to pull out its second win in the Mid-American Conference.

“One of the things that we talk about is finding another gear, and continuing to find other ways to score,” said head coach Ron Arenz after his team took a five-set victory on Saturday night.

The Zips fell behind Miami after the first set 1-0, and then again after the third, 2-1.

But they kept their cool and forced the match into a fifth and final set by capturing the fourth, 25-21.

In the fifth, Akron came out of the gates on fire and won the first five points.

The Zips controlled the set and came up with the program’s 700th win, 15-8.

Paiton Twitty is quickly becoming the go-to player in the rotation, as she ended up with 14 kills.

She also contributed on the defensive side, coming through with six blocks and multiple kills off balls that barely made it over the net from the other side.

Twitty has become a player that opponents have to mark.

This has allowed senior Tina Dimitrijevs to do what she does best; Dimitrijevs finished with an astonishing 25 kills that night.

Akron finished the weekend 1-1, and dropped to third place.

They entered the weekend tied for second place with Ohio, who swept their weekend series.

Akron lost to the Bowling Green Falcons in straight sets Friday night.

The Falcons entered the James A. Rhodes Arena as heavy favorites, but left with a victory only after a brutal fight.

Despite falling 3-0, Akron scored 64 points and forced the first set into overtime.

But Bowling Green’s athletes were too much for the Zips to handle, and the Zips found themselves outmatched.

“We struggle with our outside,” Arenz said. “They had a couple different pieces that we didn’t match up well with, in terms of blocking adjustments and so forth.”

Akron faltered not only offensively but also defensively.

The Zips found themselves having to attack Bowling Green multiple times because of the long arms of their outside players.

Akron did a nice job keeping those balls alive, and was able to score points and keep each set close.

But it was not enough.

Akron plays Ohio and Kent State next weekend on the road.