OXFORD, Ohio - Redshirt freshman Sarah Chaney had a breakout game for the Miami University volleyball team, but it would not be enough as the RedHawks fell to Northern Illinois, 0-3 (19-25, 17-25-20-25) on Saturday. Miami is now 5-14 on the season and 0-6 in the Mid-American Conference. The Huskies are 13-9 overall and 4-2 in the MAC.
Chaney was just short of a career high with 11 kills (her career high of 13 kills came in a five-set match against Albany). She made only one error the entire match on 21 total attempts for an impressive hitting percentage of .476.
It didn't start out well for the RedHawks as Northern Illinois scored the first six points of set one. Chaney would help lead Miami back with three kills off of Amy Kendall assists. Lisa Treadway and Chelsea Visk also put down kills as the 'Hawks went on a 10-4 run to tie the score at 10. Meg Riley recorded two kills and Christina Menche had a service ace as Miami kept the score even until it was 14-14. From there, a 5-1 run would give NIU a 19-15 lead and force a RedHawk timeout. After the break, Chaney scored two consecutive kills to pull Miami to within three, but a 5-2 run by the Huskies would close out a 25-19 win.
A NIU attack error and a Treadway kill gave Miami a 2-0 lead to begin set two. Trailing 3-4, a kill from Chaney and another service ace by Menche were part of a 6-1 run that put the Red and White in front, 9-5. A 7-3 run by the Huskies would cut the deficit to one at 11-12, but Annie Reiswig responded with a kill to put Miami back up by two. NIU answered with a 6-1 run that put it in front, 17-14. On the next point, Riley and Visk teamed up on a block, but the RedHawks would be unable to get any closer as the Huskies went on to win, 25-17.
Chaney had three more kills as Miami took an 8-6 lead early in set three. The Huskies would tie the score at eight, but a pair of kills from Jenny Ingle would help keep the RedHawks even over the next 10 points. Tied at 13, NIU would score the next five points to force a Miami timeout. Madison Dodd and Ingle responded out of the break with back-to-back kills, while Visk scored a service ace to cut the deficit to two at 16-18. After a pair of side outs, Ingle would record her first career service ace to make it 18-19. The Miami attack went cold from there as the Huskies closed on a 6-1 run to take a 25-20 victory.
In addition to Chaney's 11 kills, Riley finished with 11 for Miami. Kendall led the RedHawks with 26 assists, while Madison Hardy had 14 digs.
It's back on the road as Miami heads north to the state of Michigan for a pair of matches. On Thursday, Oct. 11, the RedHawks will be in Mt. Pleasant to take on Central Michigan at 7 p.m. They will then head to Ypsilanti to face Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.
