AKRON, Ohio - With the Mid-American Conference Tournament only two weeks away, the Miami University volleyball team hits the road for a pair of key league matches. On Friday, the RedHawks take on Akron at 7 p.m. Saturday, Miami heads up to Buffalo for a 6 p.m. first serve.

MIAMI TIES FOR MAC LEAD: Having increased its winning streak to eight matches, the RedHawks are now tied with Central Michigan at the top of the MAC with a 10-2 record. Miami holds the tiebreaker over the Chippewas thanks to a 3-2 head-to-head victory on Oct. 20. The MAC race is not over by any means, as in addition to CMU, Akron is only one game back at 9-3. Bowling Green also remains in contention with an 8-4 MAC record.

SEAMAN NEARS MILESTONE: Junior setter Morgan Seaman had a big weekend with 50 total assists. She teamed with sophomore Louise Comerford to earn her second consecutive MAC East Division Setter of the Week award. Seaman now has 1,989 career assists and needs only 11 more to become the 13th setter in Miami history with 2,000 for her career.
  ABOUT AKRON: It's been a breakout year for Akron as it currently holds a 16-7 record overall with a 9-3 mark in the MAC. The Zips won only three league matches and 11 matches total last season. Last weekend they dropped a five-set heartbreaker to Buffalo on Thursday before rebounding with a 3-1 victory over Toledo on Saturday. Akron is known as a powerful serving team and is led offensively by senior middle blocker Ashley Richardson. She has 241 kills on the season, an average of 2.80 per set. The Zips hold opponents to a .177 attack percentage as a team defensively.

SERIES WITH THE ZIPS: Miami holds a 46-15 lead in the all-time series with Akron. Earlier this season, on Oct. 5 in Oxford, the RedHawks saw their 12 match win streak against the Zips end in a 0-3 (22-25, 21-25, 18-25) defeat. Junior right side hitter Avarie Powell put down 13 kills, but Miami only hit .146 for the match.

ABOUT BUFFALO: Buffalo is 9-15 overall and is in contention for one of the final MAC Tournament spots with a 5-7 record. After defeating Akron in five sets on Thursday, it fell in five sets to Ball State on Saturday. UB's last three matches have each gone to five sets. Buffalo is led by senior outside hitter Polina Prokudina. She has 287 kills, an average of 3.09 per set.

SERIES WITH THE BULLS: Miami holds a 32-9 lead in the all-time series with Buffalo. The RedHawks have won 10 straight against the Bulls, including a 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-19) decision in their first meeting this season in Oxford on Oct. 4. Miami held Buffalo to a .110 attack percentage for the match. Offensively, Powell led the way with 12 kills and a .588 attack percentage.