Women’s Basketball

The University of Akron women’s basketball team beat Walsh University on Saturday, 81-70, in the team’s first exhibition game of the 2016-2017 season.

The Zips had a balanced attack, as seven players scored at least seven points each. Senior Hannah Plybon had an excellent all-around game with 18 points, seven rebounds, six assists, two blocks, and one assist. Plybon also went 3-9 from beyond the 3-point line.

Megan Sefcik came off the bench and made four 3-pointers on her way to scoring 14 total points. The team also received 14 points each from forward Greta Burry and freshman Haliegh Reinoehl. Finally, Alex Ricketts scored ten, Alli Ball had nine, and Brittany Gordon added seven points.

The Zips struggled to extend its lead during a game that stayed close the whole time. The Zips outscored the Cavaliers in each quarter, but never by more than three points. Akron led by six at halftime, nine at the end of the third quarter before finishing with an 11-point victory.

The Cavaliers’ Brooklyn Wooten was a major factor in the Zips’ defensive struggles, scoring a game-high 24 points on 8-18 shooting. Wooten made three out of five shots from deep and five out of six free throws in her 30 minutes of play. Wooten also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out four assists.

Also, guard Jalynn Graham recorded a double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds while forward Alex Hochstedler adding ten points.

The Zips will play their first regular season game on Saturday at home versus Malone University. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron.

Women’s Volleyball

The Zips volleyball team split a pair of matches over the weekend, beating The University at Buffalo on Thursday, 3-2, and falling to Ball State University on Sunday, 0-3.

The win versus Buffalo was just its third of the season versus a conference opponent. The Zips sit with an 8-18 record overall and a 3-11 record in the MAC. The Buffalo Bulls are also 3-11 in the Mid-American Conference and are now just 4-23 overall. The Ball State Cardinals are 8-6 in the MAC and 12-16 overall.

On Thursday the Zips fought hard in a close matchup versus Buffalo, pulling out the tie-breaking fifth set, 15-12. The Zips had five players with at least ten kills, including a team-high 16 from Jessica Kloehn (Milwaukee, Wisconsin).

The Zips struggled on Sunday versus Ball State, losing in sets of 25-20, 29-27, and 25-17. Elya Karsner led the Zips with 12 kills, while Stow native Madi Baer added ten.

The Zips will finish up their regular season this weekend with road games versus conference opponents Miami (Ohio) and Bowling Green. First, the Zips will play the Redhawks at 7 p.m. in Oxford on Friday night. Then, Akron will finish its season on Saturday at 5 p.m. in Bowling Green.

Swimming and Diving

The UA swimming and diving squad fell to Buffalo on Friday in its first road meet of the season.

Once again the Zips won the women’s 200-yard medley relay, with the quartet of Madison Myers, Kristen Vargas, Sadie Fazekas, and Morgan Waggoner finishing with a time of 1:43.73.

The Zips then got an individual win in the 100-yard backstroke, as Luka Szynal finished nearly three seconds ahead of teammate Laura Savariau and Buffalo’s Maddy Jacumski. Paloma Marrero came back in the next event, the 100-yard breaststroke, and won with a time of 1:04.28.

The Zips would have to wait until event 19 on the day, the 200-yard backstroke, to win again. Once again Szynal beat Savariau and the other competitors by over three seconds. Marrero then would win the 200-yard breaststroke for her second win of the day.

Fazekas then got the Zips another win in the 100-yard butterfly for the team’s final victory of the day. Fazekas narrowly defeated Buffalo’s Julia Box by less than one second.

The Zips will need to wait a while before they compete in the Magnus Cup Invitational in Cleveland on Nov. 18, 19, and 20.