Recap courtesy of Kent State's Athletic Communications Department

MT. PLEASANT, Mich. – Kent State improved to 5-1 in five-set contests on Wednesday evening with a 3-2 (25-18, 19-25, 24-26, 25-21, 15-8) victory over Central Michigan.

The Golden Flashes (8-10, 2-5 MAC) never trailed in the opening set. Junior Vanessa Imoh and senior Mercedez Brown were nearly unstoppable and combined for nine kills on only 17 swings.

Central Michigan answered with a wire-to-wire victory in the second and then came out on top of a third set that featured 11 ties and four lead changes.

After trailing by five in the fourth, Kent State battled back and took its first lead, 21-18, with a 6-0 run. The Flashes prevented their host from scoring consecutive points and were able to close the set and force a fifth.

Kent State limited mistakes in the fifth with zero hitting errors and a .400 hitting percentage while CMU committed more attack errors (7) than kills (6).

The Flashes recorded multiple blocks in each set and totaled a season-best 14 stuffs. Redshirt junior Adalynn Ginley and junior Nadia Miller led the way with seven blocks each. Junior Lesley Furuta (15 digs) and sophomore Catie Patterson (14 digs) were also key contributors defensively.

Brown finished with a team-high 17 kills, and Imoh added 14. Both attackers were efficient and posted hitting percentages above .300 on the night. Senior Kylee Baranski had a team-high 25 assists in her Kent State debut.

The Flashes and Chippewas will complete the two-match series at McGuirk Arena on Thursday at 4 p.m.