OXFORD, Ohio – It is a split week for the Miami University volleyball team. The RedHawks start on the road as they travel to Bowling Green Thursday for a 6 p.m. match. Miami then has its Mid-American Conference home opener on Sunday at 3 p.m. when it hosts Northern Illinois as part of Family Weekend. Both matches will air live on ESPN3.
PROMOTIONS FOR SUNDAY'S MATCH: Fans receive free entry to Sunday's contest with a purchase of a Western Michigan football ticket on Saturday.
CANCER SUPPORT MATCH COMING OCT. 5: On Friday, Oct. 5, Miami will host Ohio for its Cancer Support Match. The RedHawks will be collecting donations for local charity Luna Cares in order for them to make the wellness baskets they provide to women and their families while they undergo treatment for cancer. More information and a list of items they are looking for donations of can be found
HERE.
OPPONENT PREVIEWS
ABOUT BOWLING GREEN: The Falcons are 8-7 overall and 2-0 in the MAC. They had a successful start to Mid-American Conference play last weekend when they traveled to Buffalo and earned a 3-0 sweep on Friday. They followed that up with a hard-fought 3-2 victory at Akron on Saturday. Bowling Green is coming off a season where it shared the MAC regular season crown with Miami with a 13-3 league record. All but one player from that team has returned for this season. Defense is the name of the game for the Falcons as they hold opponents to a .185 attack percentage. Their leader is senior libero Kallie Seimet. For the second consecutive season she leads the nation with 337 digs, an average of 6.24 digs per set.
SERIES WITH FALCONS: Miami holds a 51-29 lead in the all-time series with Bowling Green. The teams split their two meetings last season with each team winning at home. On Sept. 21, 2017 in Oxford, the RedHawks had to adjust to a 5-1 offense on the fly, but overcame that to earn a 3-1 (19-25, 25-23, 29-27, 25-23) victory.
Margaret Payne put down 14 kills to lead Miami, while
Morgan Seaman had a double-double with 45 assists and 17 digs. On Oct. 26, 2017 in Bowling Green, the Falcons got their revenge as the RedHawks fell, 1-3 (25-22, 17-25, 24-26, 21-25) in another defensive battle.
Meredith Stutz led Miami with 15 kills in that contest.
ABOUT NORTHERN ILLINOIS: The Huskies are 4-13 overall and 2-0 in the MAC. After a tough non-conference schedule, they got off to a surprising start in league play with a 3-0 sweep of Toledo on Friday. They followed it up with a 3-1 win over defending MAC West Division champion Ball State on Saturday. Prior to facing Miami on Sunday, they will host Western Michigan on Thursday. Senior middle blocker Meg Wolowicz has been the offensive star for Northern Illinois. She has 257 kills, an average of 4.15 per set. Sophomore outside hitter Jori Radtke has been strong as a six-rotation player. She averages 3.33 kills and 3.05 digs per set.
SERIES WITH HUSKIES: Northern Illinois holds a 23-20 lead in the all-time series with Miami. The RedHawks used a complete team effort to earn a 3-0 (25-15, 27-25, 25-18) win in their last meeting on Oct. 28, 2017 in DeKalb.
Katie Tomasic led Miami with 11 kills, while the 'Hawks held the Huskies to a .041 attack percentage for the match.
