Nov. 15, 2003

Box Score

OXFORD, Ohio--Shaking things up over the final weekend of the conference regular season and entering the MAC Tournament on a two-match win streak, Miami (10-21; 4-12 Mid-American Conference) upset Akron (16-12; 11-5 MAC) in four games on Saturday evening (Nov. 15), 30-25, 30-22, 26-30 and 30-24.

Junior outside hitter Tara Buroker (Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) hammered out 23 kills in the win, while sophomore libero Suzy Wolford (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) added a career-high 22 digs.

Behind a sizzling .405 hitting percentage and a solid blocking effort in the first game, Miami took a 1-0 lead in the match. The RedHawks had to battle back to tie the game five times before taking the lead for good, 18-17. After posting a 19-18 edge, Miami went on a 4-0 surge off two kills by redshirt freshman middle hitter Lauren Slusser (Columbus Grove, Ohio/Columbus Grove), a kill by freshman outside hitter Jordan Centers (Norwalk, Ohio/St. Paul) and a block by Slusser, Centers and Buroker to take a 23-18 lead. From there, Miami continued to chunk out points until Slusser iced the game for the RedHawks with a kills, 30-25.

With a Slusser kill starting off the second game, Miami took the lead from the onset and never looked back. Early on Miami led by as many as five, including a 15-10 edge off a Slusser service ace. Akron crawled back within one, 19-18, off a kill by Emily Kocinski, but Miami went on to outscore the Zips 11-4 down the stretch to seize the second game, 30-22. Centers pounded three of her four kills for the game, while senior middle hitter Susan Poll (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Kentwood) contributed two kills during the stretch.

In the third game, Akron jumped out to a 10-7 lead, sparked by three kills from Sandy Lewis. The Zips owned a 14-11 lead until Miami collected five unanswered points with help from a block by Poll and Buroker, two kills by Poll and a Buroker kill to lift the RedHawks to a 16-14 edge. A kill by Ashleigh Nugent and a block by Morlock and Nugent handed the Zips a 17-16 lead. The teams were tied five times before Akron went on a 5-0 surge to post a lead it would not relinquish. From there the Zips went on to take the third game, 30-26.

Miami led through the early stages of the fourth set until a kill by Morlock and a block by Lewis handed the Zips a 15-13 lead. The RedHawks rebounded to rattle off five straight points off two kills from Buroker, a block by Buroker and Poll and a kill by Centers to post a 17-15 advantage. Akron would get as close as two, 24-22, but a block by senior setter Melinda McCormick (Kalamazoo, Mich./Loy Norrix) and kills by Poll and Buroker spurred Miami down the stretch as the RedHawks claimed the match off the 30-24 Game Four win.

In addition to Buroker and Wolford, Slusser posted 13 kills and five blocks, while Poll chipped in 12 kills, a scorching .550 hitting percentage and three blocks. McCormick notched 59 assists and 10 digs, while Centers tallied 11 kills, eight digs and five blocks.

For Akron, Nugent and Morlock tallied 16 kills apiece, while Lyndsay Schmiedel notched 61 assists. Nugent and Lewis posted four blocks apiece, while Lewis collected 21 digs.

Miami will be the No. 13 seed in the MAC Tournament, playing at the No. 4 seed Ball State on Tuesday, Nov. 18. at 7 p.m. Ball State defeated Eastern Michigan in four games on Saturday to earn the No. 4 seed.

2003 Mid-American Conference Volleyball TournamentTuesday, November 18 (at campus sites)Match #1 -- No. 13 Miami at No. 4 Ball State, 7 p.m.Match #2 -- No. 12 Bowling Green at No. 5 Eastern Michigan, 7 p.m.Match #3 -- No. 11 Buffalo at No. 6 Northern Illinois, 7 p.m.Match #4 -- No. 10 Toledo at No. 7 Marshall, 7 p.m.Match #5 -- No. 9 Western Michigan at No. 8 Kent State, 7 p.m.
Friday, November 21 (at Muncie, Ind.)Match #6 -- No. 2 Central Michigan vs. Winner Match 4, 1 p.m.Match #7 -- No. 3 Akron vs. Winner Match 3, 3 p.m.Match #8 -- No. 1 Ohio vs. Winner Match 5, 5 p.m.Match #9 -- Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2, 7 p.m.
Saturday, November 22 (at Muncie, Ind.)Match #10 -- Winner Match 6 vs. Winner Match 7, 4:30 p.m.Match #11 -- Winner Match 8 vs. Winner Match 9, 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 23 (at Muncie, Ind.)Match #12 -- Winner Match 10 vs. Winner Match 11, 1 p.m.