Miami University
0-2
Michigan
2-0
Host Michigan Knocks Off Miami in Three Sets
8/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The Miami University volleyball team dropped a 0-3 (16-25, 20-25, 18-25) decision to the host Michigan Wolverines in their morning match at the Michigan Invitational on Saturday. The RedHawks fall to 0-2 on the season, while the Wolverines improve to 2-0.
"Michigan played very well," said head coach Carolyn Condit. "We had some bright spots, but it's difficult to win out of system. We learn and move on to the Saint Louis match."
Senior middle hitter Paige Hill made her presence felt in her season debut. She finished with a team leading 10 kills in the match. She made only two errors in 17 attempts for an attack percentage of .471.
Michigan came out firing in set one, building a 10-2 advantage. Hill began the Miami comeback with a pair of kills off assists from senior setter Krista Brakauskas. Trailing 5-12, the RedHawks forced four straight Wolverine attack errors, punctuated by a block from sophomore outside hitter Stela Kukoc and junior middle hitter Meredith Stutz that made it 9-12. U of M responded with a 5-2 run to push the lead back to six, but kills from junior right side hitter Courtney Bemis and junior outside hitter Olivia Rusek made it 14-19. That was as close as Miami could get as the Wolverines closed on a 6-2 run to take a 25-16 win.
Junior outside hitter Katie Tomasic and Stutz teamed up for two straight blocks, while Tomasic put down a kill off an assist from sophomore setter Mackenzie Zielinski to give the RedHawks a 3-1 lead in set two. The teams began to trade points as two kills from Hill and one from Kukoc helped keep Miami even. Trailing by three, a kill from Stutz and a service ace by senior libero Maris Below pulled the `Hawks to within one at 11-12. The teams traded side outs until Michigan had a 19-17 advantage. From there a 5-1 run gave the Wolverines match point at 24-18. Stutz and Rusek fought it off twice with back-to-back kills, but U of M scored next earn a 25-20 victory.
Set three did not start out well for Miami as Michigan opened up an 8-1 lead. Hill had three kills, but the Wolverines eventually made it a 10-point advantage at 20-10. The Red and White did not give up however as it followed with a 7-1 run that pulled it to within four at 17-21. During that stretch, Tomasic had two kills, while Hill and Kukoc each had one. Unfortunately Miami ran out of gas at that point as Michigan finished with a 4-1 stretch that closed out a 25-18 victory and gave the Wolverines the 3-0 win in the match.
Stutz finished with five kills and five blocks (one solo and four assisted) for the RedHawks, while Tomasic had five kills and four blocks (one solo and three assisted). Brakauskas led Miami with 15 assists, while Below and Kukoc each had 10 digs. The RedHawks complete play at the Michigan Invitational later Saturday when they take on Saint Louis at 5 p.m.
