OXFORD, Ohio – In one of its hardest fought battles of the season, the Miami University volleyball team fell just short in a 2-3 (25-20, 17-25, 24-26, 25-18, 13-15) defeat to Northern Illinois Saturday evening. The RedHawks fall to 9-7 overall and 2-2 in the Mid-American Conference. The Huskies improve to 11-7 overall and 4-0 in the MAC.
Freshman outside hitter Olivia Rusek continued to impress during her rookie campaign. She finished with a career-high 20 kills and added eight digs and one block. Junior outside hitter Annie Reiswig came off the bench to make significant contributions on Saturday. She had 10 kills and a .346 attack percentage.
Defensively, freshman libero Maeve McDonald had her strongest match of the season. She had a team-high 25 digs, and did not make a single reception error in 20 attempts. Sophomore outside hitter Maris Below also was tough defensively, finishing with 15 digs and a perfect 1.000 reception percentage in 35 attempts.
A pair of kills from senior outside hitter/setter Meg Riley helped Miami to a 5-3 lead to begin set one. The Huskies eventually fought back to tie the score at 10. With the score 16-15 in favor of the RedHawks, three straight kills by Rusek followed by one from sophomore middle hitter Paige Hill gave Miami control at 21-15 and forced a NIU timeout. Out of the break, Riley and Rusek each recorded kills, while Rusek had a solo block to create set point at 24-18. Northern Illinois fought it off twice, but an attack error gave the ‘Hawks a 25-20 opening set win.
The Huskies jumped to an 11-4 lead to begin set two. Rusek, Hill and Riley each had kills, but NIU kept the pressure on, eventually extending the advantage to nine at 21-12. MU put up some fight, as a service ace from sophomore setter Krista Brakauskas and a kill from Reiswig were part of a 5-3 run that cut the deficit to seven, but Northern Illinois put down a final kill to earn a 25-17 victory.
Two kills from Reiswig, along with kills from Riley and senior right side hitter Sarah Chaney helped Miami to an 8-5 lead to begin set three. Six straight points for NIU put it in front by three at 11-8. A block by Chaney and redshirt junior middle hitter Jenny Ingle stopped the bleeding, while Brakauskas followed with a service ace. After a Huskie point, a McDonald kill and a Northern Illinois attack error tied the score at 12. The teams traded the next 12 points until the score was tied at 18. From there, the Huskies scored three straight to take a 21-18 lead. Miami fought right back with three straight points of its own to tie the score at 21. Tied at 23, a kill by NIU gave it set point. Rusek recorded a kill off a Riley assist to fight it off, but two straight points by the Huskies gave it a 26-24 win.
It looked bleak early for the RedHawks in set four as they fell behind 3-7. Two kills each by Rusek and Chaney were part of an impressive 10-3 run that put Miami back on top, 13-10. Northern Illinois attempted to mount a comeback, but each time Chaney put down a key kill to help the ‘Hawks maintain the advantage. With the score 18-16, Rusek recorded three straight kills to put Miami in control. The Huskies would score only twice more as a service ace by Rusek finished off a 25-18 win and sent the match into a decisive fifth set.
Miami built a 5-3 advantage in set five with help from a Reiswig service ace and kills from Hill and Ingle. A 3-1 run by NIU quickly tied the score at six. Ingle and Chaney teamed up on a block to put the RedHawks back in front, but the key part of the set followed as Northern Illinois went on a 6-1 run to take control at 12-8. A block by Chaney and Hill followed by a setting error closed Miami to within two at 10-12. With the score 13-11, the Huskies recorded a block to create match point. Rusek put down back-to-back kills off of Brakauskas assists to pull Miami to within one, but NIU’s Mackenzie Roddy recorded her 25th kill of the night to finish off a 15-13 victory and give the Huskies a hard-fought, 3-2, win.
Riley just missed a double-double with nine kills and 25 assists. Hill had eight kills, while Chaney and Ingle each recorded seven. Brakauskas led the RedHawks with 32 assists.
Miami returns to action next Friday when it hosts Ohio for the “Battle of the Bricks” at 7 p.m.
