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OXFORD, Ohio -- The Miami University volleyball team ran into a hot-hitting Kent State team on Saturday and dropped its first match of the year, 0-3 (20-25, 22-25, 22-25), to the Golden Flashes. The RedHawks fall to 16-9 overall and 8-4 in the Mid-American Conference. KSU improves to 15-9 overall and 9-3 in the MAC.

Miami had a strong offensive attack itself on Saturday, finishing the match with a .265 attack percentage. Junior middle hitter Paige Hill led the `Hawks with nine kills. She made only one attack error in 21 attempts to finish with a 3.81 hitting percentage.

However, Kent State was on point offensively from the beginning, finishing with a .315 attack percentage on the night. The Golden Flashes were led by senior right side hitter Kelly Hutchison with 13 kills.

Set one started out well for the RedHawks as sophomore outside hitter Olivia Rusek, senior outside hitter Annie Reiswig and junior outside hitter Maris Below each had kills to help Miami to a 6-3 lead. KSU responded with an 8-2 run to take an 11-8 advantage and force a RedHawk timeout. Out of the break, Rusek put down three kills in a row to tie the score at 11, but the Golden Flashes quickly pushed the lead back to four at 19-15. Senior middle hitter Jenny Ingle, Below, and Rusek each had kills off assists from junior setter Krista Brakauskas to get the `Hawks as close as two at 20-18, but Kent State answered with a 5-2 run to finish off a 25-20 win.

The Golden Flashes opened up a 10-7 lead to begin set two. Kills from sophomore right side hitter Katie Tomasic, Reiswig and Hill, were part of a 5-2 run that tied the score at 12. The teams traded the lead five times over the next 12 points until the score was tied at 18. At that point, Kent State went on a 5-1 run to take control at 23-19. A block from Rusek stopped the bleeding, but Hutchison responded with a kill to give KSU set point. The RedHawks fought it off twice by forcing an attack error and getting a block from Hill and freshman outside hitter Stela Kukoc, but Hutchison put down the kill to give the Golden Flashes a 25-22 victory.

Set three saw Kent State jump to a 7-4 lead. Two kills from Ingle, along with kills from Kukoc and Tomasic helped Miami tie the score at 10. The Golden Flashes pushed the advantage back to three at 14-11, before a kill from Hill off an assist from freshman setter Mackenzie Zielinski got the `Hawks offense going again. The teams traded side outs until a service ace by Kukoc pulled Miami to within one at 15-16. The Golden Flashes responded with a 6-2 run to take control at 22-17. Hill, Reiswig and Kukoc each put down one final kill in the RedHawks attempt to mount a comeback, but KSU ended up with a 25-22 victory to take the match in straight sets.

Ingle finished with eight kills and a .412 attack percentage. Rusek had six kills, while Reiswig recorded six. Sophomore libero Maeve McDonald led the way with 18 digs, while Brakauskas led Miami with 18 assists. Zielinski recorded a double-double with 14 assists and 10 digs.

The RedHawks return to action on Friday when they travel to Akron for a 7 p.m. match.