Nov. 13, 2009

Box Score

OXFORD, Ohio - The Miami University volleyball team battled Mid-American Conference leading Ohio University to the brink of each set, but was unable to win a frame and fell to the Bobcats, 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 26-24), Friday night at Millett Hall. The loss snapped the RedHawks' (16-11, 11-4 MAC) season-long five-match winning streak. Miami also fell to Ohio (22-5, 14-1 MAC) 3-0 in the teams' first meeting this year in Athens.

In set one, Ohio built an 8-5 lead, but Miami rallied to tie it at eight on an Ohio attack error. The two sides traded points until Miami used a 5-3 spurt when tied at 13 to grab an 18-16 lead thanks in part to a pair of kills by senior Hallie Hanks. After a Bobcat timeout, a 3-0 Ohio spurt regained the lead briefly for the 'Cats until a service error evened the count at 19. Ohio finished the set on a 6-2 run, however, to take the opening set 25-21, with four of the points coming on kills by Ellen Herman and the final point on a Miami attack error. The set featured nine ties and five lead changes.

The 'Hawks responded early in the second frame, as a kill by senior Megan Griffin put Miami in front 2-0. An ace by freshman Lisa Treadway, Miami's only ace of the match, bumped the RedHawks' lead to 5-2. After a put-down by senior Maria Leahy made it 6-3 Miami, Ohio reeled off seven of the next nine points to grab a 10-8 edge in the set. Hanks evened the score at 10 with a kill, but the Bobcats jumped in front 17-14 on a kill by Katie Post. A pair of Amy Raseman kills helped the 'Hawks level the frame at 18 but Ohio used a 3-1 spurt to go ahead for good as a Herman kill closed out the set for the 'Cats, 25-23, despite Miami closing within one at 24-23 and forcing an Ohio timeout.

In the third set, the Bobcats built an 8-5 lead early and stretched it to 11-7 on a Miami attack error, but kills by junior Michele Metzler and Raseman and an Ohio miscue closed the gap to one at 11-10. The Bobcat advantage stayed between one and two points until Meghan Simons spiked the ball for a 19-16 Ohio lead, forcing a RedHawk timeout. The short break worked, as Miami registered four of the next five points on kills by Griffin and Hanks and two Bobcat errors to even the set at 20-20. The Red and White grabbed its first lead of the set, 23-22, on a Metzler put-down and an error by Herman put Miami up by two at set point, prompting an Ohio timeout. The RedHawks would not win another point, however, as a Post kill and an error by Leahy evened the set and Simons and setter Michelle Jantsch closed out the match for Ohio with back-to-back kills for a score of 26-24.

Ohio out-hit Miami .318 to .269 in the match, led by 12 kills from Post, who hit at an .846 clip, and a game-high 19 kills by Herman. Leahy and Metzler led the 'Hawks with nine kills each, with Metzler hitting .571 for the match. Senior setter Andrea Atteberry dished out 32 assists and also had a game-high eight digs for Miami. Despite the loss, the RedHawks did out-block the 'Cats, 5.5-2.0.

Miami returns to the court Saturday night when it hosts Kent State at 5 p.m. at Millett Hall for Senior Night.

--MURedHawks.com--