THIS WEEKEND: The RedHawks return home for the Miami/Best Western Invitational Sept. 1-2. Miami takes on Cleveland State in the home opener at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 1. On Saturday, Sept. 2, the RedHawks face off with Florida Atlantic at 11 a.m., before closing out against Eastern Kentucky at 6:30 p.m. Head coach Carolyn Condit enters her 40th season at the helm of the Miami Volleyball program, with more than 775 career wins. Assistant Coach Tania Schatow is back running the offense for her sixth season with Miami and Jacob Calai returns for his second season as coordinator of operations. Brianna McCombs joins the staff as an assistant coach for her first season with the program.
TIGER BRAWL: Miami finished this past weekend 2-1, after defeating both Alcorn State and Memphis in three sets. Sophomores Ellie Hanson and Hayden Hicks were named to the Tiger Brawl all-tournament team. Hicks played a large part in Miami's success, totaling 68 assists, 10 digs, six kills, four blocks and four service aces over the weekend. She also hit .333 over the entire tournament. Hanson led all RedHawks with 26 digs over the weekend, averaging 2.89 per set, and added two blocks. Hanson was also a force on the offensive end, totaling a team-high 32 points on the weekend. She led Miami with 26 kills and added five service aces as well.
ABOUT CLEVELAND STATE & SERIES WITH THE VIKINGS: Cleveland State went 14-17 (10-8 Horizon) and made it to the semifinals of the Horizon League tournament in 2022. The Vikings return 12 letterwinners and bring in five newcomers for the 2023 campaign. Leading this group are All-League honorees Karly Klaer and Madison Olinger, as well as Freshman of the Year Laken Voss. They will be guided by head coach Chuck Voss (Laken's father), who has spent the last 24 seasons with the Vikings. This will be the 11th match that has ever been played between Miami and Cleveland State. Miami leads the series 7-3 and last faced off with the Vikings in 1981.
ABOUT FLORIDA ATLANTIC & SERIES WITH THE OWLS: Florida Atlantic returns nine members from a year ago after going 13-13 (3-11 C-USA). They will be led by head coach Fernanda Nelson. This is the first all-time meeting for Miami and Florida Atlantic. Middle blocker Kaila Ru currently leads Florida Atlantic with 3.08 kills per set (40 total kills). Victoria Hensley is leading all Owls with 7.13 assists per set (107 total assists) and Isabelle Northam has averaged a team-high 4.40 digs per set (66 total digs).
ABOUT EASTERN KENTUCKY & SERIES WITH THE COLONELS: Eastern Kentucky is led by head coach Johnna Bazzani for her fifth season after going 15-15 (6-10 ASUN) in 2022. The Colonels return five starters from last year's team. The all-time series is 13-4 in favor of the Red and White. The last time Miami and Eastern Kentucky faced off, the RedHawks secured a 3-2 win on Sept. 9, 2017.
TELEVISION: All of Miami's matches will be available on ESPN+. All other matches in the invitational can be streamed on MiamiRedHawks.com.
UP NEXT: The RedHawks fly west to participate in the Illinois State Invitational Sept. 8-9. Miami takes on Saint Louis (Friday, Sept. 8), New Mexico State (Friday, Sept. 8) and Illinois State (Saturday, Sept. 9).
GREAT RETURNS: Of its 15-player roster, Miami returns 12 RedHawks from the 2022 roster. Seniors Maggie McCrary and Taylor Nomanson lead a solid veteran group. They are joined by juniors Caroline Cermack, Brooke Cirigliano, Margo Lawson and Gracie Norris. The sophomore class is comprised of Ellie Hanson, Hayden Hicks, Emily Morgan and Gentry Warrick. Also returning is redshirt-sophomore Brooke Jackson and redshirt-freshman Amyah Cooper.
FRESH FACES: Miami boasts three newcomers on its 2023 roster, who will look to make their impact this season. The talented group of newcomers are Raegan Lantz, Breannah Peterson, and Chelsea Williams.
ECLIPSING 750 CAREER WINS: With a 3-0 win versus Buffalo on Jan. 22, 2021, Miami head coach Carolyn Condit posted her 750th career win. Condit owns a 778-610 career record in her 44th season as a head coach. Owning more victories than any coach in any sport in the history of Miami's storied athletic department, known as the Cradle of Coaches, Condit holds a 679-532 record and is in her 40th season in charge of the Red and White. Condit is the only volleyball coach in the history of the Mid-American Conference to win more than 300 league matches, holding a conference mark of 375-247.
MIAMI BY THE NUMBERS
898 All-Time Wins
679 Head Coach Carolyn Condit Miami Wins Most by any Miami Coach in any sport
400 All-Time MAC Wins
14 NCAA/NIVC Postseason Appearances
12 Regular-Season MAC Titles
12 RedHawk Returners
12 Consecutive AVCA Academic Awards
7 MAC Tournament Titles
3 RedHawk Newcomers
4 Head Coaches All-Time
