THIS WEEKEND: The RedHawks continue their season by traveling to the Groen Family McDonald's Invitational Friday, Sept. 20-21. Miami will begin play against Xavier at 6 p.m. Friday. The RedHawks close out the weekend versus tournament host Northern Kentucky at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

ABOUT XAVIER: Christy Pfeffenberger enters her 10th year at the helm of the program. She holds a 131-135 record during her time with the Musketeers. So far this season, Xavier is 2-6, most recently losing to Cincinnati 3-1 and defeating Kent State 3-0. Logan Flaugh ranks second in the BIG EAST with 10.29 assists per set, while Margo Kemp leads the team with a .378 hitting percentage, which is the third-best in the conference. Ahead of the 2024 season, Xavier was picked to finish sixth in the BIG EAST as voted on by the league's coaches.

The all-time series is 18-5 in favor of Miami. The last time Miami took on the Musketeers, the RedHawks fell 3-2 on Sept. 15, 2022. 

ABOUT NORTHERN KENTUCKY: Northern Kentucky is led by head coach Liz Hart, who is in her 15th season as the head coach of the Norse. The Norse most recently dropped each match they played in the Rocket Invitational against Marshall (3-2), Toledo (3-1) and Eastern Michigan (3-1). Joy Banks ranks second in the Horizon League with 3.21 kills per set (106 total). Lucy Cluxton sits at second in the league with 4.88 digs per set (161 total). The Norse were selected to finish second overall in the Horizon League Preseason Poll.

The all-time series is 8-7 in favor of the Red and White. The last time Miami and Northern Kentucky faced off, the RedHawks fell a 3-1 win on Sept. 11, 2021. 

TELEVISION: No matches will be streamed at this weekend's tournament. 

UP NEXT: The Red and White begin conference play by hosting Central Michigan on Sept. 26-27.

SERVICE LEADERS: The RedHawks enter this weekend's tournament ranked fourth in the nation in aces per set (2.42) and seventh in team service aces (80). Three RedHawks rank in the top 10 of these categories in the Mid-American Conference. Hayden Hicks leads Miami with an average of 0.42 aces per set (13 total). Ellie Hanson has recorded 0.42 aces per set (14 total), and Ana Vetter follows closely behind, totaling 0.39 aces per set (13 total). 

BLOCK PARTY: Junior middle hitter Gentry Warrick currently ranks 67th nationally and first in the MAC in blocks per set (1.27). She also finds herself sitting at 45th in the country and second in the MAC in total blocks (42).

POPCORN CLASSIC: Miami went 1-2 at the Popcorn Classic (hosted by Valparaiso) this past weekend. The RedHawks were defeated by Valparaiso and Cornell in three sets. Miami topped Purdue Fort Wayne in a three-set match. Freshman setter Sophie Crawford was named to the All-Tournament Team. Crawford led the RedHawks with 8.28 assists per set and added three digs per set as well.

DUNN HOSPITALITY TOURNAMENT: The Red and White dropped two of its matches at the Dunn Hospitality Tournament in five sets to Samford and Chicago State. The RedHawks answered by topping Evansville in a four-set match (25-20, 25-12, 22-25, 25-22) on Saturday evening to close out the tournament. Freshman opposite hitter Ana Vetter led all RedHawks with a career-high 16 kills, and Raegan Lantz added 12 of her own. Hayden Hicks produced a season-high 43 assists, and Gentry Warrick recorded the most service aces of her career (four).

NORFOLK STATE INVITATIONAL: The Red and White won the Norfolk State Invitational last weekend after going 3-0. Miami took a 3-0 season-opening win against Lamar University, swept Gardner-Webb 3-0 and secured a 3-1 victory over tournament host Norfolk State. Redshirt junior outside hitter Ava Francis was named the Norfolk State Tournament MVP. She finished with 33 kills, an average of 3.30 per set, and also contributed four blocks. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by redshirt sophomore libero Anna McClure, who totaled 41 digs (4.10 per set) and added nine assists. 

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
905    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