OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University volleyball team saw its postseason run come to an end as it fell 0-3 (21-25, 16-25, 18-25) to Valparaiso in the second round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship on Friday. The RedHawks finish the season at 23-9, while the Crusaders improve to 27-10 and advance to the quarterfinals.

Too many errors proved to be Miami's undoing Friday. The RedHawks had an uncharacteristic 21 attack errors and 10 service errors. They finished with a .100 attack percentage, while Valpo made only 10 attack errors and had a .241 attack percentage for the night.

The match started well for the 'Hawks as freshman outside hitter Gaby Harper scored first, while junior middle hitter Margaret Payne had back-to-back kills off assists from sophomore setter Morgan Seaman to give Miami a 3-0 lead. The Crusaders fought back to immediately tie the score at three. Tied at six, Valparaiso took the lead for the first time in the match and proceeded to keep a one to three point advantage over the next 20 points. Trailing 11-14, a block from Payne and junior right side Haley Stewart started a 4-0 run that put the RedHawks on top, 15-14. The teams traded side outs until a kill from freshman outside hitter Sophie Riemersma made it 17-16. At that point, the Crusaders went on a 4-1 run to go in front, 20-18. Harper put down two kills off freshman setter Louise Comerford's assists, but the teams continued to trade side outs. Once Valpo built a 23-21 advantage, it scored two in a row to take a 25-21 win.

Harper again scored the first kill of set two, but the Crusaders quickly jumped to a 12-6 advantage. Freshman middle hitter Corinne Jemison ended that run with a kill, but Valparaiso kept pushing, eventually building an 18-8 lead. While Harper and Payne each had kills and Riemersma recorded a service ace, the deficit was too much as the Crusaders took a 25-16 win.

Kills from sophomore right side hitter Sarah Wojick, senior middle hitter Courtney Simons and Riemersma helped the RedHawks take a 6-4 lead to begin set three. Valpo answered with an 11-3 run of its own to take control at 15-9. Miami did not give up as Riemersma had two kills, while Harper put one down to pull the 'Hawks within three at 14-17 and force a Crusader timeout. Out of the break, Valparaiso went on a 5-2 run to make it 22-16 and put the score out of reach. The teams traded side outs the rest of the way to allow the Crusaders to take a 25-18 victory.

Harper just missed a double-double for the RedHawks, finishing with nine kills and 12 digs. Payne had seven kills and four blocks, while Riemersma put down six kills. Seaman nearly had a double-double with 15 assists and nine digs, while sophomore libero Abigail Huser led Miami with 16 digs.

Senior right side hitter Stela Kukoc and Simons played their final match for the RedHawks on Friday. This season they helped lead a very young team that despite losing seven seniors from the previous year, went on to win its third straight MAC regular season championship and advance to the MAC Tournament finals for the fourth time in five seasons. The future looks bright for Miami as 14 letterwinners are expected to return in 2019, joined by four talented newcomers.