THIS WEEKEND: The RedHawks start their season by traveling to the Norfolk State Tournament Friday, Aug. 30-31. Miami will begin the tournament against Lamar at 12:30 p.m. Friday, and follow this up with another match versus Gardner-Webb at 3:30 p.m. The RedHawks close out the weekend versus Norfolk State at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.
ABOUT LAMAR: Ariel Apolinario enters his first year at the helm of the program. The Cardinals are led by sophomore outside hitter Lyric Jordan who was named a preseason All-Southland Conference (SLC) second-team member. Jordan recorded 268 kills and 304.5 total points in her freshman campaign. The Cardinals were also selected to finish 11th in the SLC this season. The all-time series is 0-0 between Lamar and Miami.
ABOUT GARDNER-WEBB: Gardner-Webb is led by head coach Alex Hinsey who is in his first season with the Bulldogs. Hinsey previously spent the past four seasons as the head coach of the University of Mary Washington. Gardner-Webb is returning six players and brings in 11 newcomers. Morgan Hornday returns as a setter for the Bulldogs this season. She led the team with 5.25 assists per set and earned all-academic honors in 2023. The Bulldogs were selected to finish seventh overall in this year's Big South Volleyball Preseason Poll. The all-time series is 1-0 in favor of the Red and White. The last time Gardner-Webb and Miami faced off the RedHawks secured a 3-0 win on Aug. 30, 2013.
ABOUT NORFOLK STATE: Norfolk State is led by their veteran head coach Kathy Bullock. Bullock enters her fifth season with the Spartans. Norfolk was selected to finish fifth overall in the 2024 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Preseason Poll. Gabrielle Gilbert was selected to the 2024 MEAC Volleyball Preseason Team. Gilbert returns for her sophomore season after being named the program's first ever MEAC Rookie of the Year and All-MEAC First Team selections in school history last season. She recorded 297 kills, 128 digs, 35 blocks and 331.5 total points as a freshman. The all-time series is 0-0 between Miami and Norfolk State.
TELEVISION: This weekend's matches will not be available on any platform.
UP NEXT: The Red and White travel to the Dunn Hospitality Tournament (hosted by Evansville) on Sept. 6-7.
STRONG RETURNS: The Red and White return 12 of 15 players from the 2023 season. Seniors
Caroline Cermack,
Margo Lawson and
Gracie Norris lead a solid veteran group. They are joined by juniors
Ellie Hanson,
Hayden Hicks,
Emily Morgan and
Gentry Warrick. The sophomore class is comprised of
Raegan Lantz,
Breannah Peterson and
Chelsea Williams. Also returning is redshirt-junior
Brooke Jackson and redshirt-sophomore
Amyah Cooper.
FRESH ON THE SCENE: First-year head coach
Dan Gwitt prepares for the 2024 season with three new assistant coaches,
Kristina Fultz,
Amanda Chamberlain and
Haley Davidson. Nine newcomers will be joining the Miami roster as well. These RedHawks include
Sophie Crawford,
Ava Francis,
Karina May,
Anna McClure,
Tate Mercer,
Lydia Michelin,
Ana Vetter,
Jess Walkenhorst and
Micah Wall.
FINDING THEIR FIT: Two of this season's newcomers that will be counted on to make an immediate impact for Gwitt's first Miami team are Power Five transfers:
Ava Francis and
Anna McClure. Both players join the RedHawks with multiple years of eligibility remaining (two for Francis and three for McClure) and have bought in right away to Gwitt's vision for the program. To learn more about their story, click
here!
THE RAEGAN LANTZ STORY: Raegan Lantz knows exactly when she decided she wanted to play volleyball in college. However, getting to this point hasn't been easy for Lantz. That's because her eighth-grade year wasn't just when she decided to pursue a future in collegiate volleyball. Eighth grade was also when Lantz started battling Type 1 diabetes. To learn more about Raegan's story, click
here!
GWITT GEARING UP FOR DEBUT SEASON: When the fifth head coach in Miami Volleyball history met his players for the first time in early February to introduce himself, it didn't take long for the RedHawks to get to work. And while it's been a whirlwind for Gwitt since day one, including finalizing a roster, hiring assistant coaches, updating the locker room, building a culture and finishing a schedule, he is ecstatic about where things stand for the program heading into his first season at the helm. Check out the feature story
here!
SPECIAL PROGRAM, SPECIAL PLACE: Dan Gwitt was ready to take the next step. After a journey in volleyball that's included playing at Penn State, serving as the youngest Division I head coach in the country at Centenary, excelling as a recruiter and assistant at Indiana and then most recently returning to his alma mater for the past two seasons, Gwitt felt it was time to move on from Happy Valley and be a college head coach again if the right job opened up. Miami University was the perfect opportunity. To catch up on his decision to become the next head coach of the Miami Volleyball team, click
here!
GWITT ERA: Miami University Director of Athletics David Sayler announced
Dan Gwitt as the fifth head coach in Miami Volleyball history. Gwitt comes to Oxford after serving the past two years as an assistant coach at Penn State, his alma mater. Gwitt was part of back-to-back trips to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2022 and 2023 and helped sign a top-10 recruiting class in each of his two years on Penn State's staff. The Nittany Lions produced a total of seven All-Big Ten players and two AVCA All-Americans during Gwitt's tenure, finishing with a win-loss record of 49-17 over that span. Gwitt spent the previous four seasons as an assistant coach at Indiana. In his first season with the Hoosiers, the team's defense improved in total blocks from 277th in the nation to 15th and improved its conference record by six wins from the previous campaign. Gwitt coached two All-Big Ten players and also helped ink the top recruiting class in program history, including IU's first-ever Under Armour All-Americans. Gwitt began his coaching career at Centenary College, which was then a Division I program in the Summit League. Gwitt became Centenary's interim head coach in 2007, making him the youngest Division I head coach in the country at the time. He spent three seasons with the Pride, coaching more than 70 matches by the age of 24. In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, Gwitt served as the director of operations and master coach for two of the largest and most successful clubs in Southern California between 2009 and 2018. He took multiple teams to the Open Division for the Girls Junior National Championships. All of those teams finished in the Division 1 SCVA rankings, including a 17s team that finished as the top ranked team in the SCVA. Originally hailing from Eden, New York, Gwitt graduated from Penn State in 2007 with a degree in communication arts and sciences. During his time as a member of the men's volleyball team under the guidance of current head coach Mark Pavlik, he helped the Nittany Lions clinch the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Championship and make a memorable trip to the NCAA Final Four.
MIAMI BY THE NUMBERS
901 All-Time Wins
401 All-Time MAC Wins
14 NCAA/NIVC Postseason Appearances
12 Regular-Season MAC Titles
12 RedHawk Returners
7 MAC Tournament Titles
9 RedHawk Newcomers
5 Head Coaches All-Time
