OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University volleyball team opened up newly renovated Millett Hall with a 3-1 (25-22, 27-25, 20-25, 25-20) win over IUPUI at its annual Miami Invitational on Friday. It is the ninth straight win the RedHawks have recorded at their home tournament. MU improves to 6-4 on the season, while the Jaguars fall to 5-8.
Senior setter/right side hitter Meg Riley was big on the RedHawk attack Friday evening. She recorded her second triple-double of the season with 13 kills, 26 assists and 10 digs. She made only four attack errors in 29 attempts to lead all outside hitters with a .310 attack percentage.
Redshirt junior middle hitter Jenny Ingle was also a big contributor in the victory. She finished with a team-leading 16 kills, and recorded three blocks including two solo. She made only three attack errors in 23 attempts for a team-leading hitting percentage of .565.
Ingle and freshman outside hitter Olivia Rusek put down kills, while Riley had a service ace as Miami built an 8-6 lead to begin set one. The Jaguars eventually tied the score at 12, but two more kills from Ingle along with two kills from sophomore middle hitter Paige Hill once again helped the ‘Hawks go in front by an 18-17 score. MU built the advantage further by forcing IUPUI into a pair of attack errors. After the Jaguars scored two in a row to pull to within one, a kill by Riley off an assist from sophomore setter Krista Brakauskas and a solo block by Ingle put the ‘Hawks up three. IUPUI once again got to within one at 23-22, but back-to-back kills from Ingle and Rusek off Riley assists gave Miami a 25-22 victory.
The Jaguars opened up a 14-9 lead during the first half of set two. Kills from junior outside hitter Annie Reiswig, Riley, Rusek and Ingle were part of a 5-2 run that pulled the RedHawks to within two at 14-16. Trailing 15-19, kills from Rusek and Hill, along with a block by Hill and Riley were part of a 5-1 run that tied the score at 20. The teams traded points until IUPUI got set point at 24-23. A block by Ingle and freshman outside hitter Katie Tomasic fought it off and retied the score. The Jaguars got another set point, but a kill by Ingle tied it at 25. A block by Hill and Tomasic followed by an IUPUI setting error gave Miami the 27-25 win.
IUPUI started strong again in set three, this time building a 15-9 lead. The RedHawks again fought back, using two kills from Reiswig along with kills from Hill and Ingle as part of a 10-5 run that closed them to within one at 19-20. However the Miami attack went cold from there as the Jaguars answered with a 5-1 run to close out a 25-20 victory.
Trailing 5-8 in set four, two straight kills from Riley started a 5-0 run that put Miami ahead and forced IUPUI to call timeout. The Jaguars tied the score at 10, but Rusek began to take over. She put down three kills, while Reiswig contributed two as the ‘Hawks went on a 9-4 run to take a 19-14 advantage. IUPUI tightened things up with a 4-1 run to pull within two, but two kills from Riley put an end to the threat. Two final kills from Ingle finished off Miami’s 25-20 win and gave the RedHawks a 3-1 victory in the match.
Rusek finished with a double-double, recorded 11 kills and 11 digs. Brakauskas also had a double-double with 26 assists and 10 digs. Hill had 10 kills and a team-leading five blocks. Freshman libero Maeve McDonald led the RedHawks with 21 digs.
Miami continues play at its home tournament when it takes on UAB at noon. The match will be streamed on Miami All-Access.
