Nov. 8, 2008
Final Stats
KENT, Ohio - Miami rebounded from a tough 2-3 defeat Friday with a competitive 3-0 win over Kent State (25-23, 25-22, 25-23) Saturday. With the victory, the RedHawks improve to 16-10 overall, and 10-4 in the Mid-American Conference. The Golden Flashes fall to 13-14 overall and 3-10 in the MAC.
"It was nice to rebound from a close loss on Friday," said head coach Carolyn Condit. "Every match is important in the MAC East Division race. The Kent State win should give us momentum in our next homestand."
The RedHawks got off to a slow start in set one as they fell behind, 2-7. Two kills by Emily Schroeder, along with two kills from Michele Metzler, all off assists from Andrea Atteberry, helped key an 8-5 run that pulled Miami within two at 10-12. The teams traded points until a Kent State kill gave the Golden Flashes a 22-20 advantage. Maria Leahy and Metzler scored back-to-back kills to tie the score at 22. After a Kent State timeout, Metzler and Hallie Hanks teamed up on a block, which was followed by an Atteberry service ace to create set point. Two points later, Metzler put down an Atteberry pass to give the RedHawks the 25-23 win.
After falling behind again in set two, this time 3-7, Miami quickly rallied with a 9-5 run that featured three kills by Megan Griffin, and tied the score at 12. Hanks continued the RedHawks momentum with two kills of her own as they went up 17-13. With the score 23-22, Leahy and Hanks recorded back-to-back kills to win the set, 25-22.
A competitive start to the third set saw the score tied at nine early on. The Golden Flashes scored the next four points to take a 13-9 lead, but Miami went on a 5-1 run to retie the score at 14. From there Hanks helped lead the RedHawks with two more kills as they took a 20-17 lead. With Miami up 22-19, Kent State recorded two straight aces, and forced the RedHawks into an attack error to tie the score at 22. From there, the Golden Flashes made a service error, which was followed by Schroeder recording a service ace to set up match point. After Kent State killed off one match point, Leahy finished the set with a kill off an Atteberry assist.
Hanks led the team with 14 kills. Atteberry contributed 42 digs. Melissa Zenz was the team's leader in digs with 13.
The RedHawks return home for their final home matches of the regular season next weekend. Miami will host Akron on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. It will then host Buffalo on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 5 p.m. That match will be senior night, and the team's three seniors, Schroeder, Zenz and Catherine Wolfe will be honored.
