Volleyball Ready for Auto Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational

Friday, September 6

East Lansing, Mich.

5:00 p.m. ET

Miami University

Tennessee

Volleyball Ready for Auto Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational

9/5/2019 2:34:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Match Notes - Spartan Invitational Tournament Homepage Live Stats (All Matches)BTN+ Stream (Tennessee)BTN+ Stream (Indiana State)

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Miami University volleyball team hits the road for the first time as it travels to East Lansing, Michigan for the Auto Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational. On Friday, the RedHawks take on 21st-ranked Tennessee at 5 p.m. On Saturday, Miami faces Indiana State at 10:30 a.m. Both matches will be live streamed on BTN+.

ROAD WARRIORS: After opening the 2019 season with four straight home matches, Miami will become road warriors for the rest of the month. All nine remaining matches in September will be away from Millett Hall. The RedHawks have had a lot of success the past three seasons on the road. They are 26-11 in true away matches and 10-5 in neutral site contests.

STRONG START FOR PAYNE: Senior middle hitter Margaret Payne has had a strong start to her final Miami campaign. In four matches, she has 40 kills, an average of 2.86 per set and is hitting .373. She has recorded 13 total blocks (five solo and eight assisted). Payne was honored for her performance at the Miami Best Western Sycamore Inn Invitational by being named to the All-Tournament Team, and was also named MAC East Division Offensive Player of the Week.

OPPONENT PREVIEWS

ABOUT TENNESSEE: The Volunteers are ranked 21st in the latest AVCA Coaches' Poll. They are 0-2 on the season, but both of those matches were five-set losses to sixth-ranked Illinois, a Final Four team from a season ago. Senior outside hitter Tessa Grubbs is Tennessee's top player. She was named Honorable Mention All-American in 2018 after recording 453 kills, an average of 4.19 per set. In the Vols' first match against the Illini last Friday, she put down 29 kills to lead the team.

SERIES WITH THE VOLUNTEERS: Miami holds a 4-3 record in the all-time series with Tennessee. The two teams last met on Aug. 26, 2006 at the Tennessee Invitational. The RedHawks took a set against the 11th-ranked Volunteers, but UT was able to come away with a 3-1 win. Emily Schroeder led Miami with 16 kills in the match.

ABOUT INDIANA STATE: The Sycamores are 0-3 after the first weekend of the 2019 season. The dropped a 1-3 decision to Northeastern last Friday to begin play at the Green Bay Invitational. They then fell in straight sets to Fresno State on Saturday and lost a 2-3 heartbreaker against host Green Bay on Sunday. Freshman outside hitter Gretchen Kuckkan was Indiana State's top performer over the weekend. She finished with 27 kills, an average of 2.25 per set.

SERIES WITH THE SYCAMORES: Miami holds a 9-2 lead in the all-time lead in the series with Indiana State. The teams last met on Sept. 7, 2012 at the Miami Best Western Sycamore Inn Invitational. It was Head Coach Carolyn Condit's 600th career victory as the RedHawks took a 3-2 (25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 23-25, 15-8) win. Kayleigh Cox led Miami with 17 kills, while Meg Riley had a double-double of 15 kills and 29 assists.