ATHENS, Ohio – The Miami University volleyball team ran into a hot hitting Ohio team as it saw its 10-match win streak come to an end with a 0-3 (13-25, 14-25, 15-25) defeat on Saturday. The RedHawks finish the regular season at 19-9 overall and 12-4 in the Mid-American Conference. The Bobcats improve to 23-4 overall and finish with a perfect 16-0 record in MAC play.
Junior outside hitter Annie Reiswig led the Miami attack with nine kills, while senior setter/right side hitter Meg Riley had seven kills and sophomore outside hitter Maris Below recorded six. But Ohio was strong on the attack from the beginning, and hit an impressive .378 for the match to earn the victory.
Reiswig came up with a pair of kills off assists from sophomore setter Krista Brakauskas, while sophomore middle hitter Paige Hill and redshirt junior middle hitter Jenny Ingle each recorded kills to help Miami take a 6-5 lead to begin set one. Ohio answered with two straight points, but a Bobcat service error and a kill from Below tied the score at eight. From there, a 12-2 run from OU put it in control at 20-10. Reiswig would record two more kills, but the Bobcats went on to take a 25-13 victory.
Ohio jumped to a 7-1 lead to begin set two. Kills from Reiswig and Riley helped Miami inch closer at 5-9, but an 8-3 Bobcat run put the set out of reach for the RedHawks. Riley, Hill and senior right side hitter Sarah Chaney each had kills, but Ohio was able to maintain the advantage and take a 25-14 win.
The third set saw Miami take an early 2-1 lead off a kill from Below and a solo block by Reiswig. The Bobcat offense got moving again as it answered with a 13-5 run to take a 14-7 lead. Trailing 8-18, two kills from Riley and one from Reiswig helped the RedHawks pull to within seven at 11-18. That would be as close as MU could get as Ohio went on a 7-4 run to close out a 25-15 victory and take the match in straight sets. It is only the second time all season the ‘Hawks have dropped a match in three sets.
Riley led Miami with 13 assists, while Brakauskas had 11. Freshman libero Maeve McDonald recorded 10 digs for the ‘Hawks.
Miami will be the three seed in the upcoming MAC Tournament in Athens, Ohio. The RedHawks will receive a bye to the quarterfinal round and will take on the winner of the match between the sixth seed and the seventh seed on Saturday. Match time will be either 5:30 or 7:30 p.m. Keep checking MURedHawks.com for all the information on Miami’s MAC Tournament run.
