Miami Ohio University Athletics
Miami University
Pittsburgh
Miami Falls to Pittsburgh in Tournament Finale
9/3/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 3, 2011
PITTSBURGH - The Miami University volleyball team dropped the finale of the University of Pittsburgh Invitational to the host Pitt Panthers, 0-3 (22-25, 22-25, 18-25) Saturday. The RedHawks fall to 5-2 on the season, while Pittsburgh improves to 6-1.
At the conclusion of the tournament, senior Jenn Caylor was named to the All-Tournament Team. She had 23 kills and 23 digs during the event, an average of 2.30 of each per set.
The first set was a story of runs. The Panthers opened up a 6-1 lead to begin the match. With the help of two kills from Amy Raseman, Miami answered with a 9-1 run to take a 10-7 advantage. Pittsburgh would battle back to take a 16-14 lead of its own. Trailing 17-18, Raseman put down the tying kill, teamed up with Chelsea Visk for a block and then Christina Menche recorded her own kill off of a Meg Riley assist to give the RedHawks a 20-18 lead. The Panthers followed with the next four points to take control of the set for good. Miami would get it to within one again at 22-23, but Pitt would score the next two points to earn a 25-22 victory.
Tied at five in the second set, Pittsburgh would go on a 6-0 run to take control. Kills by Menche, Jackie Lang, Madison Dodd, and Cassie Farrell were part of a 7-2 RedHawk answer that saw them pull within one at 12-13. Trailing 14-16, a kill by Dodd and a ball handling error by the Panthers would finally allow Miami to tie the set. The teams would trade points until it was 19-all. From there, Pittsburgh would go on a 4-0 run to take a 23-19 lead. A service error and two attack errors by the Panthers pulled the RedHawks to within one at 22-23, but Pitt scored the next two points to take a 25-22 win.
A service ace by Amy Kendall, a kill by Lisa Treadway and a block from Farrell and Riley helped stake Miami to a 5-1 advantage in set three. Despite kills from Dodd and Jenn Caylor, Pittsburgh would fight back to tie the set at 10. Miami kept battling as a kill by Farrell off a Kendall assist and a service ace by Madison Hardy gave the RedHawks a 15-13 lead. Tied at 16, the Panthers scored the next five points to put the match out of reach. Dodd would score another kill, but Pittsburgh would come away with a 25-18 win.
Caylor led a very balanced Miami attack with five kills, while Raseman and Farrell each had four. Hardy led the way with 13 digs, while Riley had 15 assists. Miami struggled offensively, hitting only .042 for the match.
The RedHawks return home for their annual Miami Best Western Sycamore Inn Invitational next weekend. On Friday, Miami will take on Florida Gulf Coast at 7:30 p.m. Prior to that match, the other two teams in the tournament, Alabama A&M and Radford will face off at 5 p.m. There will be four total matches in Millett Hall on Saturday, with the RedHawks facing Radford at 10 a.m. and Alabama A&M at 7:30 p.m.
