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KENT, Ohio – Senior Ashley Ring recorded a season-high 20 kills, but Tinuke Aderemi-Ibitola led all players with 21 as Kent State picked up a 3-1 win over the University of Evansville volleyball team in the opening game of the Golden Flashes Classic.
 
After hitting .344 in Tuesday's tilt versus Austin Peay, Ring followed that up with another accurate performance for UE (0-5).  Ring totaled 20 kills against 8 errors in 37 tries to finish at .324.  Cathy Schreiber (.357) and Meaghan Holmes (.308) also had accurate efforts.  Genesis Miranda finished the day with 11 kills while Kim Deprez led the Aces with 19 digs and Lorena Marquez checked in with 25 assists.
 
Aderemi-Ibitola was a monster for the Golden Flashes (3-1).  She posted 21 kills and just 1 error on her way to a .625 finish.  Jenny Buczek led all players with 53 assists while Kelsey Bittinger (14) and Bridget Wilhelm (12) also finished in double digits in kills.
 
Kent State got the early jump on the day, earning wins in the first two sets.  In the opening frame, the Golden Flashes used a late run to earn a 25-21 win.  With the scored tied at 8-8, Kelsey Bittinger registered her third kill of the match as KSU took the lead for good.  The Golden Flashes finished off a 5-1 run before the Aces battled back.
 
Grace Carter notched a pair of kills to get UE within a tally at 16-15 and UE got within striking distance later as an Ashley Ring kill made it a 22-20 game.  Kent State would hang on, though, as a Bridget Wilhelm tally finalized the 25-21 win.
 
With the scored knotted at 3-3 in the second stanza, a 3-0 spurt helped Kent State finish off a 25-16 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.  Accurate hitting was the difference for the Flashes as they finished off at .562.  Jenny Buczek hit a perfect 1.000 with three kills in three tries.  Ring was the top player for the Aces, finishing with four kills in six tries.
 
Evansville turned the tables in the third game, staging off a furious late rally to earn a 28-26 triumph.  In the early-going, a Cathy Schreiber kill capped off a 7-4 start for the Aces.  The lead reached as many as five points at 17-12 as Meaghan Holmes turned a Lorena Marquez set into a kill.
 
The Golden Flashes made their way back as Tinuke Aderemi-Ibitola tallied three kills before they tied the score up at 20-20.  Neither team wanted to give in down the stretch as each point from 20-20 through 26-26 was tied up.  The difference at the end came courtesy of Genesis Miranda and Kim Deprez.  Miranda notched a kill on a Ring set before Deprez registered a service ace to finish off the game.
 
Game four saw the pendulum swing both ways through the first 20 serves.  Nine ties led to a 9-9 score before a KSU game-changing run took place.  At 9-9, Wilhelm tallied another kill, which began a 6-0 rally as Kent State took a 15-9 edge.  Evansville cut the gap two points (21-19), but Aderemi-Ibitola's 21^st kill of the night finished off the match and gave the Flashes a 25-21 win.
 
Next up for the Aces is New Hampshire.  The teams are set to square off at 4 p.m. CT in the third game of the event.  Tomorrow morning, UE faces Morehead State at 10 a.m. CT in the final match of the tournament.