Sept. 10, 2001
REDHAWKS PREPARE FOR FOUR MATCHES THIS WEEK
After going 2-1 to place second at the Miami/Best Western Inn Classic last weekend, Miami University's volleyball team prepares to host Butler on Tuesday at 7 p.m. before traveling to the state of Colorado this weekend. Tuesday is "Meet the Team Night." At the conclusion of the contest, the RedHawks will host a reception in the "M" Room of Millett Hall for all fans. After the Bulter match, Miami has no small task ahead of them as they play at No. 12 Colorado State on Friday at 7 p.m. (CDT). The RedHawks then participate in the Denver Invitational on Saturday, facing Siena at noon (CDT) and host Denver at 7 p.m. (CDT).
ABOUT BUTLER
Entering Tuesday's match, Butler owns a 4-2 mark after suffering three-game losses to Illinois and Northern Illinois last weekend. The Bulldogs opened the season with four wins at home over Delaware (3-0), Austin Peay (3-2), St. Louis (3-2) and NC State (3-0). Keely Norris leads the team averaging 3.73 kills per game and 0.77 blocks per game, while Alisson Cox notches 3.09 kills per game and a team-best 4.18 digs per game. Setter Amanda Matthews is posting 11.36 assist per game and 3.27 digs per game for the Bulldogs.
THE SERIES
Miami owns a 12-1 lead in the series with Butler. The RedHawks are 6-0 when playing at home. Miami won the opening match of the series in four games at home in 1985. In the most-recent meeting, the RedHawks captured a four-game win at Butler in 1999. Miami's lone loss came in 1994 at the Iowa Classic, falling in four games.
NOTCHING 150
With wins over Illinois State and Purdue at the Miami/Best Western Inn Classic, Miami's volleyball program attained its 150th triumph in Millett Hall since becoming the homecourt of Miami Volleyball in 1985. The RedHawks topped the Redbirds in five games and the Boilermakers in four. Over the last 16 years, Miami has compiled a 150-60 record at Millett Hall, a winning percentage of .714. The team has registered an even more impressive 56-18 mark over the past five seasons (1996-2000), a winning percentage of .757. Miami has compiled a 39-13 mark (.750) in the Mid-American Conference during that five-year period.
RANKED FOES
Two opponents on the Miami schedule are currently ranked among the Top 25 in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches' Poll. South Carolina, a participant in last weekend's Miami/Best Western Classic, currently ranks 19th, moving up two spots from last week's poll. Colorado State, who the RedHawks face this weeked, jumped one spot to No. 11.
Miami/Best Western Inn Classic All-Tournament Team
For the second consecutive week, junior outside hitter Kelly McCullough (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) was named to an all-tournament team. McCullough and senior outside hitter Lee Ann Karr (Kirkwood, Mo./Kirkwood) were named to the Miami/Best Western Inn Classic All-Tournament Team. This is the fourth all-tournament team for McCullough in two seasons and the first for Karr.
McCULLOUGH: MS. ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
In reward for her efforts at the Miami/Best Western Inn Classic, Kelly McCullough was decorated with all-tournament team accolades for the second straight week, her fourth appearance on an all-tournament team in two years. (She had to sit out much of the first tournament of last season with a severely sprained ankle.) She was named to the Valparaiso Invitational All-Tournament in Miami's opening weekend of the 2001 season. Last year, she was named to the Pittsburgh and South Carolina all-tournament teams.
McCULLOUGH MAINTAINS POWERFUL PRESENCE
Kelly McCullough continues to be a major factor in the successes of Miami volleyball. Last week, she tallied 20 kills and two service aces in both RedHawk triumphs, including a 5.00 kill-per-game performance in a four-game triumph over Big Ten foe Purdue. She also produced 18 kills and 11 blocks (2.75 per game) against IPFW. In Miami's five-game win over Illinois State, she notched her first double-double of the season with 20 kills and 12 digs. She also added five blocks and two service aces to that performance.
McCullough, Miami's most consistent contributor, averaged 4.13 kills per game, 1.33 blocks per game, 2.20 digs per game and posted a team-best four service aces last week. She currently leads the team averaging 3.76 kills per game and 1.10 blocks per game while producing a team-best six service aces this season. She also averages 2.10 digs per game.
EAGAN--SHE CAN DIG IT
Junior outside hitter Erika Eagan (Bloomington, Ill./Tri-Valley) is off to a great start defensively this season. Thus far, Eagan is averaging 4.36 digs per game and has been in double figures for digs in five of Miami's six matches. In Miami's season opener at Valparaiso, Eagan tallied 16 digs. Last week, she notced 19 digs against Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne and a career-best 26 digs in a five-game win over Illinois State. Eagan also leads the team with five solo blocks.
SETTIN' IT UP
Miami is fortunate to have two setters who are getting the job done. Sophomore Melinda McCormick (Kalamazoo, Mich./Loy Norrix) started Miami's first three matches and was named to the Valparaiso All-Tournament Team. McCormick averages 8.73 assists per game and has played in 15 games over six matches, making four starts. Incumbent setter senior Summer Clouse (Tiffin, Ohio/Hopewell-Loudon) was limited the first two weeks of the season with back and hip pain. Clouse, however, started in both Miami wins last weekend at the Miami/Best Western Inn Classic and is averaging 12.55 assists per game. She saw limited action in the back row against IPFW, Miami's third match.
GOOD KARR-MA
Twice already Lee Ann Karr has produced double-doubles for the RedHawks. In Miami's two wins at the Miami/Best Western Inn Classic, Karr notched 17 kills and 13 digs over Illinois State and 13 kills and 18 digs against Purdue. Three times this season she has been in double figures for kills. She also has amassed five or more blocks in two of Miami's matches.
POLL BACK IN THE SWING OF THINGS
Last year, sophomore middle hitter Susan Poll (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Kentwood) ended the season as one of Miami's most-accurate hitters. Having to sit out the first match of the 2001 campaign with a groin pull, Poll got off to a rather slow start in hitting percentage over her first two matches. She turned things around this weekend, however, producing a team-best .397 hitting percentage at the Miami/Best Western Inn Classic.
Poll established a career-high 18 kills in a five-game win over Illinois State and produced a .371 hitting percentage. She recorded a .400 hitting percentage against No. 21 South Carolina and a .435 hitting percentage in a four-game win over Purdue.
ACES ARE WILD
Senior defensive specialist Robyn Byrnes (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) has served up aces in four of her six matches this season. Junior outside hitter Kelly McCullough leads the team with six service aces to date, while freshman outside hitter Tara Buroker (Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) tallied three service aces against No. 21 South Carolina, the most in a match for any RedHawk this season.
EATON 'EM UP AT THE NET
Limited early in the season due to a preseason back injury, junior middle hitter Jennifer Eaton (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) has steadily been making a comeback. Full-go for the Illinois State and Purdue matches, Eaton registered six blocks in each match to average 1.33 blocks per game for the tournament. She also notched 11 kills in each match.
MIAMI 3, PURDUE 1
Miami concluded its tournament stint with a four-game win over Purdue (30-22, 27-30, 30-23 and 30-24) to register its 150th win in Millett Hall.
Kelly McCullough paced the Red and White with 20 kills, four blocks and two crucial service aces. Lee Ann Karr added 13 kills and a match-high 18 digs. Jennifer Eaton tallied 11 kills and six blocks.
SOUTH CAROLINA 3, MIAMI 0
Miami fell in three games to South Carolina in Saturday's first match of the Miami/Best Western Inn Classic, 25-30, 23-30 and 18-30.
Leading by as many as seven in the first game, Miami battled the No. 21 Gamecocks, but was unable to pull out the win, falling 25-30. In the second and third stanzas, South Carolina took control of the games in the early stages and continued to edge Miami in the final two games.
Erika Eagan continued her strong defensive stand, posting a match-high 15 digs and four blocks to lead the RedHawks.
MIAMI 3, ILLINOIS STATE 2
Miami jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the match with 31-29 and 32-30 wins, but Illinois State battled back to tie the match, 2-2, off 30-26 and 30-24 triumphs. The RedHawks, however, persevered through the fifth game to capture the match with a 15-10 win in the fifth game. The win was Miami's 149th in Millett Hall.
Kelly McCullough paced the RedHawks with 20 kills, 12 digs and five blocks, and Erika Eagan notched a career-best 26 digs. Susan Poll also posted a career-best with 18 kills. Lee Ann Karr added 17 kills, 13 digs and two blocks.
FOR OPENERS
With a three-game triumph over Valparaiso at the Valparaiso Invitational, Miami improved to 13-15 in season-opening matches over its 28-year history. Over the past 10 years, Miami has posted a 7-3 mark in opening matches, while earning an even more impressive 4-1 record over the last five seasons. When opening the season in a tournament, Miami is now 6-7.
McTOURNAMENT TEAM
Following a two-match stint at the Valparaiso Invitational, Miami junior outside hitter Kelly McCullough and sophomore setter Melinda McCormick were named to the all-tournament team. This maked McCullough's third-straight all-tournament team appearance, being named to the Pittsburgh and South Carolina Invitational all-tournament teams last season. McCormick earned her first all-tournament team honor, averaging 11.00 assists per game over the weekend.
BUROKER DEBUT
While the buzz around Oxford, Ohio, was redshirt freshman Ben Roethlisberger starting at quarterback against Michigan on Sept. 1, he was not the only freshman from the Greater Findlay Area to make his/her first collegiate start in the season's opening contest. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Tara Buroker, a Bluffton High School product, started both matches for the RedHawks at the Valparaiso Invitational Sept. 1. Buroker posted 15 kills over the two matches to average 2.50 kills per game, including a 12-kill performance (4.0 kpg) in her first collegiate match against Valparaiso.
COMEBACK KIDS
A seven-point come-from-behind win in Game One set the tone for the rest of the match as Miami downed Valparaiso in three games in its first match of the Valparaiso Invitational. With game point on the line and its largest deficit of the game, 22-29, Miami rallied to record nine straight points. Three kills and two block assists by Jessica Rayburg (Arnold, Pa./Valley) and two block assists and the game-winning kill by Lee Ann Karr sparked Miami in its nine-point run. The RedHawks took their first lead of the game off a block by Rayburg and Karr to make the score 30-29. Moments later, Karr put the game away with a kill. Miami went on to win the match 31-29, 30-28, 31-29.
AND THE SURVEY SAYS ...
For the first time since the Mid-American Conference went to divisions in 1997, Miami University's volleyball squad is not the preseason favorite in the MAC East Division. The RedHawks did not fall far from the top, however, tabbed to finish second in the East behind Bowling Green. Kent State, Akron, Ohio, Marshall and Buffalo round out the East Division, respectively.
Western Michigan was predicted to sit atop the West Division, followed by Ball State, Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan and Toledo. Ball State was forecast as the MAC Tournament winner.
SMART COOKIES
Both semesters during the 2000-01 academic year, the Miami volleyball team led all Miami athletic squads in team cumulative grade-point average. In the fall, the volleyball team amassed a 3.29 team GPA, and accrued a 3.32 team GPA in the spring. Tara Buroker was one of only two Miami athletes to earn a perfect 4.0 GPA and be named to the President's List both semesters during 2000-01. Four volleyball players made Dean's List, a 3.5 GPA or better, in the fall, while three were named to the Dean's List in the spring. Susan Poll joined Buroker on the President's List following the spring semester.
FOUR OF A KIND
Miami has had a pipeline of sorts to Cincinnati's Ursuline Academy over the past few years. Four student-athletes on Miami's roster hail from Ursuline Academy. In 1998, Robyn Byrnes and Jennifer Eaton joined the Miami squad after playing out their prep careers at Ursuline Academy. In 1999, senior Sarah Uehlin transferred from Eastern Michigan to continue her career closer to home. After having to sit out a season due to NCAA transfer guidelines, Uehlin activated in 2000. Sophomore Amy Doran is the most recent Ursuline Academy addition, after graduating in 2000.
ALL-MAC ARE BACK
Miami's two selections to all-MAC teams last year return to the 2001 squad. Outside hitter Kelly McCullough earned honorable mention all-MAC accolades, as voted by the conference coaches, as a sophomore in 2000. One of only six freshmen named to the MAC all-Freshman team, middle hitter Susan Poll was the first RedHawk to be named to the all-freshman team since it was established in 1997.
NEW FACES
Redshirt freshmen outside hitters Tara Buroker and Angie Zent (Fort Wayne, Ind./Nothrup) join 12 returning letterwinners in the RedHawk lineup. Buroker, a two-time all-state selection at Bluffton High School, has started in five of Miami's six matches. Zent, a high school all-American and two-time all-state selection from Northrup High School, is coming off shoulder surgery last winter. Freshman outside hitter Kristen Walters (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) will redshirt this season.
THE CONDIT FILE
In her 18th season at the helm of Miami's volleyball program, head coach Carolyn Condit and her team aim to turn the weakness and misfortunes of a trying 2000 campaign into the strengths and successes of a promising 2001 season.
One of the most prolific coaches in Mid-American Conference history, Condit owns more conference wins than any other MAC coach, active and non-active, with a 176-81 MAC mark. Four times Condit has been named MAC Coach of the Year, which ties for the most of any MAC coach.
During her Miami stint, she has compiled a 339-210 record, recording her 300th Miami win in 1998 against Bowling Green. A week later, Condit registered her 400th career win against Central Michigan. She owns a 438-290 record over her 22-year coaching career.
Over the past 17 seasons, Condit and her teams have enjoyed a great deal of success. Eleven times, Miami has finished in the conference's top three, and eight times, has placed first or second. Two of Condit's first three Miami teams, the 1985 and '86 squads, placed second in the MAC, but it was not until her sixth season at the helm (1990) that her team seized the coveted MAC title.
Sport is measured by numbers--wins and losses. And Condit's percentages tell a wonderful tale. Thirteen of her teams have accrued winning records, including seven above the .700 mark. Fourteen squads have compiled MAC records over .500 and seven registered over .800.
Ten of Condit's teams have advanced to the Mid-American Conference Tournament since it was reinstituted in 1987, which ranks second for the most conference postseason appearances. Only four times has one of Condit's crews not advanced to MAC postseason competition. A MAC record, seven Miami teams have advanced to the conference tournament championship match, while three have captured the title.
