Nov. 7, 2008
Final Stats
ATHENS, Ohio - After two hours and 17 minutes of back-and-forth volleyball, the Miami RedHawks found themselves on the short end of a 2-3 loss to Ohio (25-19, 21-25, 25-21, 22-25, 12-15). The RedHawks fall to 15-10 overall and 9-4 in the Mid-American Conference. The Bobcats are 17-7 overall and 10-3 in the MAC.
In the first set, Miami started with a 4-1 lead off kills from Megan Griffin and Cassie Farrell, as well as a service ace by Griffin. An 8-2 run by Ohio gave the Bobcats a three point lead at 9-6. Miami responded with a 9-3 run of its own to go up 15-12. With the score tied at 15, Griffin recorded three straight kills to help the RedHawks gain control of the set. Kills by Emily Schroeder and Hallie Hanks set up match point at 24-19, and Miami won set one, 25-19, on a block by Griffin and Hanks.
The RedHawks once again jumped ahead early in set two, this time 8-3. Three blocks, as well as two kills by Michele Metzler helped key the run. A 7-2 stretch by Ohio tied the score at 10. The teams traded points from there until the score was tied at 14. Trailing 17-21, Miami recorded kills from Schroeder and Maria Leahy off assists from Andrea Atteberry to pull within two at 19-21. With the score 24-20 in favor of the Bobcats, the RedHawks fought off one set point with a kill by Schroeder, but an attack error on the next point gave Ohio set two, 25-21.
Things looked bleak for Miami when the Bobcats took an 18-13 lead in set three. After head coach Carolyn Condit called timeout to regroup the troops, the RedHawks immediately scored five straight points off a kill from Griffin, two Ohio attack errors and two blocks. The teams traded points until the score was tied at 21. A ball handling error by the Bobcats, an ace from Melissa Zenz and a kill from Leahy gave Miami set point at 24-21. After Ohio called timeout, the RedHawks forced them into an attack error on the next point to win set three in come-from-behind fashion 25-21.
The momentum from the previous set carried over into set four as Miami jumped to a 4-0 lead off kills from Griffin and Schroeder. The Bobcats regrouped and went on a 12-4 run to tie the score at 12. With the score tied at 16, Ohio went on another 8-4 run to take a 24-20 lead. The RedHawks fought off two set points by forcing the Bobcats into an attack error and recording a service ace by Atteberry, but Ohio followed that with a kill to take set four, 25-22, and tie the match at two sets apiece.
The teams traded the first four points to start the decisive fifth set. After Ohio recorded a kill to take a 3-2 lead, two straight service aces by Ellen Herman keyed a 5-1 run that put the Bobcats up 8-4. The RedHawks responded with four straight points off kills from Schroeder, Griffin and Atteberry, as well as a block by Metzler. Trailing 8-11, Miami had one more run in them as Schroeder scored two straight kills to pull the RedHawks to within one at 10-11. A service error by Atteberry and a service ace for Ohio pushed the lead back up to three. Metzler then pulled Miami back to within one at 12-13 with two straight kills of her own. However, Ohio was able to finish off the set with two kills by Herman to win the match 3-2.
Schroeder and Griffin tied for the team lead with 15 kills apiece. Hanks and Metzler each added 11. Atteberry recorded a season-high 57 assists. Zenz led the team with 25 digs. Miami outhit Ohio .269-.251 over the course of the match, which featured 28 ties and seven lead changes.
The RedHawks conclude their road trip with a 5 p.m. match against Kent State on Saturday.
