Sept. 23, 2005
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind.--For the fourth time is six matches, Miami University's volleyball team found themselves in a five-game battle. The RedHawks suffered a 30-25, 24-30, 30-19, 26-30, 10-15 loss to Ball State in the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams. Miami falls to 7-5 overall and 0-1 in MAC play, while Ball State improves to 7-4 overall and 1-0 in league action.
Senior libero Suzy Wolford (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) recorded a career-high 29 digs, 13 coming in the first game, and notched her sixth 20-plus dig outing of the season.
It was a back and forth battle throughout most of the first game. After the Cardinals opened the game 2-0, neither team led by more than one point until a pair of kills by sophomore middle hitter Carli Reihman (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) and a kill by sophomore outside hitter Jeanna Staun (Loveland, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) handed Miami a 15-13 edge. Miami was able to push its lead to 17-14, but Ball State gained momentum, rattling off five unanswered points to notch a 17-19 lead. Again the teams went back and forth. With a 25-25 tie, Miami went on a 5-0 flurry with help from kills by Reihman and senior setter Megan Clark (Solon, Ohio/Solon) and capped by back-to-back blocks by Reihman and Clark to capture the 30-25 game-one win.
Ball State took a commanding 9-3 lead, spurred by a 6-0 run, in the second game and never looked back. Kills by Staun and outside hitter Kate Norris (Indianapolis, Ind./Bishop Chatard) helped Miami close the gap late in the stanza, 23-27, but Ball State's lead was too much to surmount as the Cardinals went on to take the second game, 30-24. The Cardinals were bolstered by a solid .439 hitting percentage for the set.
Miami played catch-up through the early stages of the third game. Trailing the Cardinals 6-10, the RedHawks chiseled way a the BSU lead. A kill by freshman middle hitter Emily Schroeder (Indianapolis, Ind./Bishop Chatard), a block by Norris and Schroeder and an ace from Staun, knotted the game, 13-13. After a 16-16 tie, a kills by Staun and freshman outside hitter Alex Ratcliff (Champaign, Ill./Champaign Central), an ace by Wolford and several BSU attack errors spurred an 11-0 RedHawk flurry as the RedHawks charged to a 27-16 lead. Back-to-back kills by Norris clinched the third game for the RedHawks, 30-19.
In the fourth game, Ball State took and early lead and rolled to the 30-26 win. The Cardinals led by as many as five in the set until a big block handed them a six-point edge, 29-23. With game point on the line, three Cardinal miscues allowed Miami to pull within three, 29-26. After taking a timeout, the Cardinals sent the match to a fifth game with the 30-26 game-four win.
The teams traded points in the fifth game until a pair of Mimai attack errors gave Ball State a 6-5 edge. A kill by Staun tied the game, 6-6, but a kill and another Miami attack error gave the Cardinals an 8-6 edge. Reihman put away a kill to put the RedHawks within one, 7-8, but Ball State rattled off three unanswered points to post an 11-7 lead. BSU built its lead to five, 13-8, but a service error and a kill by Ratcliff pulled the RedHawks within three, 10-13. That would be as close as the RedHawks would get as a Miami service error and attack error handed the fifth game to the Cardinals 15-10.
For Miami Schroeder had 15 kills and 12 digs, while Staun added 14 kills and Reihman notched 13.
Sarah Obras paced the Cardinals with 23 kills and 18 digs, while Amanda McCormick recorded a match-best 34 digs.
Miami returns to action on Saturday with a 3 p.m. match at Toledo.
