Oct. 1, 2003

Box Score

ATHENS, Ohio--In its first Mid-American Conference road match, Miami University's volleyball squad (7-10; 1-2 MAC) suffered a 3-0 loss at Ohio University (11-3; 2-0 MAC), 17-30, 20-30, 16-30.

Ohio jumped out to a quick 6-1 advantaged and rolled from there in the first game. A block by redshirt freshman middle hitter Lauren Slusser closed the gap to nine, 12-21, and a kill by Slusser staved off match point, 17-29. However, a Bobcat kill iced the game for Ohio, 30-17.

Again Ohio captured a quick lead, posting a 5-0 edge at the onset of the second game. A kill by freshman middle hitter Jordan Centers pulled the RedHawks within four, 9-13. The Bobcats went on to post a 10-point advantage until junior outside hitter Angie Zent caught fire. Zent knocked down three kills and a block as Miami shrunk the Bobcat lead to five, 18-23. That would be as close as the RedHawks would get as Ohio outscored Miami 7-2 down the stretch to claim the second game, 30-20.

It was a tight game in the early stages of the third set. Miami posted an early 2-1 lead off a kill by sophomore outside hitter Kristen Walters. Ohio went on to lead by as many as three, but kills by senior setter Melinda McCormick, Zent and Centers knotted the game, 9-9. Again Ohio gained a small cushion, but a kill by Centers closed the gap to one, 11-12. That's when Ohio went on a 9-0 run to sieze a 21-11 lead. From there, the Bobcats took the match with a 30-16 Game Three win.

Junior outside hitter Tara Buroker led the RedHawks with eight kills.

Miami returns to action this weekend, hosting Buffalo on Friday, Oct. 3 and Marshall on Saturday, Oct. 4. Both matches start at 7 p.m.