Kent State freshman McGuire earns MAC volleyball honor after starring at Marshall

Kent State freshman Mackenzie McGuire has been named Mid-American Conference East Division volleyball offensive player of the eeek after earning MVP honors at the Marshall Invite last weekend.

McGuire led the Golden Flashes to a 3-0 weekend by averaging 5.19 points per set and piling up 63 kills. The 6-foot-2 Oklahoma native started the weekend by recording a career-high 24 kills and hitting .346 in a 3-1 win over Murray State on Friday. She had 24 kills again, including nine in the fourth set, in Saturday morning's 3-1 triumph over Charleston Southern. No Flashes freshman had reached 24 kills since 2014.

McGuire added 15 kills in the weekend finale against host Marshall, a 3-2 victory. Kent State improved to 7-2 on the season under first-year head coach Haley Eckerman.

The Flashes will close the non-conference portion of the 2022 schedule by playing host to Cleveland State on Thursday, then visiting Youngstown State on Friday.

Men's golf: Flashes finish second at Gopher Invitational

Kent State’s men’s golf team shot 15-under par to tie for second place at the Gopher Invitational, held Sunday and Monday at Windsong Farm Golf Club in Independence, Minn. The Flashes shot even par in the opening round, then closed with rounds of 11-under 273 and 4-under 280.

"I was very impressed with how the guys competed this week," Flashes head coach Jon Mills said. "We got off to a slow start on Monday, but they managed to stay patient while other teams faltered on the back nine, and we kept making birdies."

Jordan Gilkison and Chris Vandette finished in a tie for fourth place individually at 6-under to lead Kent State. Gilkison closed with a 4-under 67 on Monday, while Vandette’s performance was highlighted by his 5-under 66 in round two.

Bryce Reed tied for 25th place at 2-under, while Cade Breitenstine tied for 49th at 3-over.

Georgia Southern won the tournament at 20-under, followed by the Flashes and Kansas.

Gopher Invitational 

(At Windsong Farm Golf Club in Independence, Min. Par 71) 

Final team scores: 1. Georgia Southern –20. 2. Kent State, Kansas –15. 4. Michigan State, Minnesota –11. 6. Baylor –10, Furman –10. 8. Rutgers –9. 9. Notre Dame –3. 10. Yale –2. 11. Coastal Carolina, Toledo –1. 13. Arkansas State E. 14. West Virginia +8. 15. Iowa State +13.

Kent State: T4. Chris Vandette -6 (71-66-70). T4. Jordan Gilkison -6 (78-68-67). T25. Bryce Reed -3 (70-69-72). T49. Cade Breitenstine +3 (73-72-71). 71. Ben MacLean +8 (71-70-80).

Women's golf: Hoogeboom medalist at Dick McGuire Invitational

Kent State senior Mayka Hoogeboom earned her first collegiate victory on Tuesday at the 2022-23 season-opening Dick McGuire Invitational, held at the UNM Championship Course in Albuquerque, NM.

Hoogeboom shot 8-under 208 over three rounds. She opened with a 2-under 70, then carded eight birdies while firing a 7-under 65 in round two on Monday before closing with a 1-over 73.

“We are very excited for Mayka. She had a great summer, and has continued her strong play,” said KSU head coach Casey VanDamme. “Even more impressive is how she recovered from poor starts in two of three rounds. She had the confidence to withstand the slow start and trusted herself."

The Flashes finished in a tie for third place at 2-over as a team, three shots behind runner-up SMU. Ohio State won the event at 11-under.

Sophomore Jennifer Gu and senior Noramol Nuchsila both carded a 1-under 71 to lead Kent State over the final 18 holes. Gu finished in a tie for 17th overall at 2-over, while Nuchsila moved up 27 spots on the leaderboard on the final day and tied for 35th at 6-over.

Freshmen Blanca Yague-Cuadros (+10) and Leon Takagi (+11) finished tied for 56th and tied for 60th, respectively, in their first collegiate event.

"We will take many positives from the first event and definitely have some things to improve,” said VanDamme.

Dick McGuire Invitational

(At UNM Championship Course in Albuquerque, NM. Par 72) 

Final team scores: 1. Ohio State –11. 2. SMU –1. 3. Kent State New Mexico +2. 5. Iowa State +11. 6. Denver +13. 7. Texas Tech +16. 8. USC +17. 9. Kansas +19. 10. Northwestern +22. 11. Kansas State +34. 12. Fresno State, San Diego State +35. 14. UNLV +36. 15. Cal Poly, Iowa +37. 17. Charlotte +38.

Kent State: 1. Mayka Hoogeboom -8 (70-65-73). T17. Jennifer Gu +2 (74-73-71). T35. Noramol Nuchsila +6 (72-79-71). T56. Blanca Yague-Cuadros +10 (72-75-79). T60. Leon Takagi +11 (76-71-80).

Kent State field hockey, women's soccer teams set for MAC play

The Kent State field hockey and women’s soccer teams will both open Mid-American Conference play this week.

The Flashes field hockey squad (2-4) will celebrate 50 years of Title IX when it plays host to Appalachian State (3-2) on Sunday at noon. The women’s soccer team (0-5-2) hosts Ohio University (3-2-1) on Thursday at 7 p.m., then visits rival Akron (1-2-2) on Sunday at 1 p.m.

KSU connection to stunning Appalachian State upset

Appalachian State’s football team upset No. 6 Texas A&M 17-14 last Saturday in College Station, Tex. The Mountaineers are coached by Shawn Clark, who served as the offensive line coach at Kent State from 2013-15 before moving on to coach the offensive line at Appalachian State ― his alma mater.

Clark was named head coach of the Mountaineers before the final game of the 2019 season, a victory over UAB in the New Orleans Bowl. He has compiled a 21-8 record since taking over the program.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Flashes' McGuire named MAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week