KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Hitting the road for the first time in three weeks did not stop the Miami University volleyball team’s momentum as it earned its ninth straight victory with a 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-22) victory at Western Michigan Saturday evening. The RedHawks improve to 18-8 overall and 11-3 in the Mid-American Conference. The Broncos fall to 16-13 overall and 7-7 in the MAC.
With the victory, coupled with a Ball State loss to Eastern Michigan. Miami has clinched the three seed in the upcoming Mid-American Conference Tournament. With the new format, the RedHawks will have a first round bye and will not have to begin play in Athens until the quarterfinal round on Saturday, Nov. 22.
Senior setter/right side hitter Meg Riley continued her amazing run as of late in leading the RedHawks. She just missed her second straight triple-double, finishing with 11 kills, 23 assists and nine digs. She hit .333 for the match and had four blocks (one solo and three assisted). Riley is only nine kills short of 1,000 for her career and only one assist short of 2,000 for her career.
Senior right side hitter Sarah Chaney also is playing the best volleyball of her career as she finishes up her final few matches in the Red and White Uniform. She was second on the team with 10 kills and also contributed two blocks (one solo and one assisted). She did not make a single attack error in 19 attempts for an attack percentage of .526 for the match.
Western Michigan came out on fire in the first set, scoring the first five points. A kill from sophomore middle hitter Paige Hill off an assist by sophomore setter Krista Brakauskas finally got Miami on the board. That point, along with kills from Riley, Chaney and redshirt junior middle hitter Jenny Ingle were part of a 10-4 run that put the RedHawks in front for the first time at 10-9. With the score tied at 13, two kills from Riley along with one from Hill gave Miami a three-point cushion. The Broncos fought back to tie the score, and the teams traded the lead two more times. Tied at 21, back-to-back kills from freshman outside hitter Olivia Rusek and Riley made it 23-21, but WMU again was able to tie the score at 23. Tied at 24, a kill from Hill, followed by a block from Riley gave Miami a hard-fought, 26-24, victory.
Two kills apiece by Chaney, Ingle and sophomore outside hitter Maris Below helped the RedHawks to a 9-7 advantage in set two. Chaney, along with Rusek kept the pressure on the Broncos as each put down two more kills, allowing MU to maintain a 16-14 lead. Western Michigan pulled to within one at 16-17, but kills from Chaney and Below, a Bronco attack error and a service ace by freshman libero Maeve McDonald put the Red and White in control at 21-16. Kills from Chaney, Rusek and Riley helped Miami eventually finish off a 25-21 win.
Trailing 7-9 in set three, two kills from Riley, along with a kill from Rusek and a block by Hill and Riley were part of a 5-0 run that put the ‘Hawks up 12-9. WMU answered with an 8-4 run of its own to take a 17-16 lead. Junior outside hitter Annie Reiswig ended the bleeding with a kills, while Brakauskas followed with a service ace to give the advantage back to Miami. Tied at 18, back-to-back kills from Reiswig and Riley started a rally of four straight points for the Red and White. Western Michigan scored three in a row of its own to pull within one at 21-22. In front 23-22, Riley and Ingle finished off a 25-22 win with kills to give the RedHawks a straight-set victory.
Rusek and Hill had nine kills on the night, while Ingle finished with six. Brakauskas had a double-double with 24 assists and 11 digs, while McDonald tied for the team lead with 11 digs. Miami attack at an impressive .323 percentage, while holding Western Michigan to a .236 attack percentage.
The RedHawks hit the road for their final two matches of the regular season next weekend. Miami travels to Kent State on Friday for a 7 p.m. match. It then heads to the site of the MAC Tournament in Athens for a showdown with Ohio on Saturday at 7 p.m.
