Nov. 1, 2008
Final Stats
OXFORD, Ohio - Megan Griffin tied a career high with 16 kills to help the RedHawks return to their winning ways, as Miami defeated Northern Illinois 3-1 on Saturday night. The RedHawks improve to 15-9 overall, and 9-3 in the Mid-American Conference. The Huskies are 14-12 and 6-6 in the MAC.
The first set was back-and-forth as Miami jumped to a 5-2 lead off two kills from Cassie Farrell, as well as one from Michele Metzler. Northern Illinois went on a 10-7 run to tie the score at 12. Both teams repeatedly traded points until the score was tied at 20. Griffin then recorded a kill, followed by a Husky attack error to give the RedHawks a 22-20 lead. Four straight points by the Huskies created set point for Northern Illinois. Hallie Hanks fought off one set point with a kill off an assist from Andrea Atteberry, but a setting error gave the Huskies the 25-23 set one win.
Miami took control of set two quickly with an 8-0 run. Griffin had four kills during the run, and Atteberry contributed a service ace. That proved to be more than enough as the RedHawks took the second set, 25-14. Griffin recorded eight kills during the set.
With the score tied at four in the third set, Miami broke it open with a 6-1 run. Melissa Zenz recorded a service ace, and Hanks and Metzler teamed up on a block during that period. After Northern Illinois pulled to within five at 8-13, Atteberry, Griffin and Farrell each recorded kills to push the lead to eight at 20-12. The RedHawks won the set, 25-15, when Maria Leahy scored a kill off an Atteberry assist.
Two kills by Farrell, followed by Hanks and Metzler combining on a block, got Miami off to a good start in set four with a 4-1 lead. With the score 7-5 in favor of the RedHawks, Miami scored five consecutive points off two blocks from Atteberry , two kills from Griffin and another kill by Leahy. The Huskies got as close as five at 12-17, but a 7-3 run by Miami gave the RedHawks match point at 24-15. Amy Raseman then scored the match winning kill off another Atteberry assist to win the set, 25-15.
In addition to Griffin's 16 kills, Leahy recorded 11 of her own. Griffin hit .536 for the match. Atteberry had 50 assists, while Zenz led the team with 19 digs. The RedHawks hit .307 as a team, compared to .067 for Northern Illinois.
Miami hits the road for its final trip of the regular season next weekend. On Friday, Nov. 7, the RedHawks travel to Athens to face Ohio at 7 p.m. It will then move on to Kent State to face the Golden Flashes on Nov. 8 at 5 p.m.
