Sept. 20, 2007
Box Score
Despite sending the match to five-games after an impressive 30-22 game-four win, Miami University's volleyball team fell to Bowling Green in its Mid-American Conference opener. Miami (3-7; 0-1 MAC) hit a higher percentage and had more digs than Bowling Green (9-5; 1-0 MAC), but 17 blocks led the Falcons to their fifth consecutive win.
Two kills apiece by freshman middle hitter Michele Metzler and senior outside hitter Jeanna Staun set the tone early in game one as the RedHawks took a 4-1 lead. After a Bowling Green kill made the game 4-2, a kill by junior outside hitter Emily Schroeder sparked a four-point Miami surge pushing the RedHawks to an 8-2 advantage. Miami's six-point cushion held steady at 10-4, but the Falcons took the next six points, knotting the game at 10-10. Three Falcon miscues allowed the RedHawks to regain a five-point lead, 19-13, but Bowling Green slowly crept back into the game and eventually took a 23-22 lead. Two kills apiece by Kendra Halm and Corey Domek down the stretch carried the Falcons to a 30-27 game-one win.
With the score 5-5 in game two, the Falcons rallied off six-consecutive points to take an 11-5 lead. Miami trailed by as many as seven-points, 10-17, until strong serving by Schroeder and junior libero Melissa Zenz erased the deficit and eventually helped Miami take a 22-20 lead. The game remained tied as late as 29-29, but a service ace from junior libero Cristina Piazza and a kill by sophomore middle hitter Hallie Hanks gave the RedHawks a 31-29 win and evened the match at one game apiece heading into the ten-minute intermission.
A five-point spurt and a six-point surge from the Falcons put Miami in an eight-point hole, 4-12, to start game three. Two kills by Staun and a kill by Schroeder cut the deficit to seven points, 9-16, but Bowling Green pulled away and took game three, 30-19.
The early stages of the fourth game went back-and-forth, until two Bowling Green attack errors and a kill by Schroeder gave the RedHawks some breathing room, 13-10. The Falcons tied the game on three different occasions, with the last being 16-16, but Miami took advantage of a series of Bowling Green mistakes to take a 24-18 lead. Down the stretch, two kills by sophomore middle hitter Megan Griffin and a kill by Metzler put the RedHawks up for good as they won game four, 30-22.
After two kills by Schroeder knotted the fifth game at 3-3, Bowling Green rattled off four consecutive points and took an 8-4 lead halfway through he game. A kill by sophomore setter Andrea Atteberry and Staun cut what once was a five-point deficit to three points, 8-11, but the Falcons took four of the next five points to earn a 15-9 win.
Metzler collected a career-high 17 kills, while hitting at a .387 clip for the match. Staun added 15 kills and Schroeder posted a double-double with 11 kills and 15 digs. Zenz notched a team-high 21 digs. Piazza tied a career-high with 11 digs.
Halm and Stephanie Swiger paced the Falcons with 20 kills and 19 kills, respectively.
Miami faces Western Michigan to close out its opening weekend of Mid-American Conference action. The RedHawks and Broncos square-off at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 22.
