Miami def. Eastern Michigan, 3-0
Western Michigan def. Buffalo, 3-0
Toledo def. Kent State, 3-0
Bowling Green def. Central Michigan, 3-2
Ohio def. Ball State, 3-0
Northern Illinois def. Akron, 3-2
Miami def. Eastern Michigan, 3-0
YPSILANTI, Mich. – The Miami University volleyball team fell behind in every set, but each time overcame the deficit to earn its first Mid-American Conference victory, a hard-fought, 3-0 (25-20, 28-26, 33-31), win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday. Miami improves to 6-15 on the season and 1-7 in the MAC. The Eagles are now 13-11 overall and 3-5 in the MAC.
Meg Riley completed an amazing weekend with her eighth triple-double of the season. She had a new career-high of 22 kills to go along with 20 assists and 10 digs. She made only one attack error for the match on 39 attempts for a .538 attack percentage. She was halfway to a quadruple-double as she assisted on five blocks.
Riley wasn’t the only player on the Red and White to have a great performance. Lisa Treadway recorded a double-double with 10 kills and a season-high 17 digs. Madison Hardy was only three digs off of her career-high with 29 digs.
Eastern Michigan opened up a 10-7 lead to begin the first set. Kills by Jenny Ingle and Madison Dodd, along with a block by Ingle and Riley helped stake the RedHawks in front at 11-10. The teams traded points until the Eagles took a 15-14 lead. From there, three kills by Treadway and one from Ingle would put Miami in front, 18-15, and force an EMU timeout. The Eagles would respond out of the break with a 5-1 run to take the advantage at 20-19. Their run ended with a service error and that reignited the RedHawk offense. Riley would record two kills as Miami ended things with a 6-0 run to earn a 25-20 victory.
Miami once again fell behind to begin set two, this time by a score of 8-13. EMU would eventually push the lead to six at 16-10 before the RedHawks began to make their run. Riley started it off with two straight kills off of Amy Kendall assists. Two straight service aces from Dodd would cut the deficit to two at 16-18 and force an Eagle timeout. The teams traded points until Eastern Michigan was in front, 22-19. A kill from Riley, an EMU attack error and a block by Christina Menche and Dodd would tie the score at 22. Tied at 23, a kill from Dodd gave Miami set point, but the Eagles would fight it off. Eastern Michigan would then get a set point of its own, but a kill from Sarah Chaney would tie it back up for the Red and White. Finally, tied at 26, a kill from Treadway and a service ace by Menche would give the ‘Hawks a hard-fought, 28-26, win.
In set three Miami fell behind, 7-12. Kills from Ingle and Treadway, followed by a block from Ingle and Riley would pull the ‘Hawks to within two. Eastern would respond with an 8-5 run that gave it a 20-15 lead. Treadway would put down a kill to help Miami get within three, but the Eagles would eventually force a RedHawk timeout when they went in front, 22-18. Out of the break, Miami scored the next three points to cut the deficit to one, punctuated with a Treadway service ace. EMU followed with two straight points of its own to create set point at 24-21. Riley took over with three straight kills off of Kendall assists to fight it off and tie the score at 24. A service error would then give the Eagles another chance to win, but again Riley put down a kill to keep the RedHawks in the set.
Tied at 26, a block from Chaney and Menche would give Miami its first chance to win the match. However, another service error would retie the score at 27. Eastern Michigan would eventually get another chance to win the set when it took a 29-28 lead, but Ingle would record a kill to fight it off. The Eagles got two more chances to win, but Ingle kept the RedHawks in it both times with a kill and a solo block. Tied at 31, Riley put down her career-high 22nd kill to give Miami another set point. This time Hardy followed with a service ace to give the Red and White a 33-31 victory and a straight-set win.
Miami hit .284 for the match, while holding Eastern Michigan to a .149 hitting percentage. Ingle had eight kills and five blocks (one solo and four assisted). Kendall led the RedHawks with 30 assists.
Miami returns home next week for two matches. On Friday, the RedHawks welcome Toledo to Millett Hall. Due to the home hockey game, it will feature a special start time of 6 p.m. On Saturday, Oct. 20, Miami hosts Ball State at 5 p.m.
Western Michigan def. Buffalo, 3-0
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Western Michigan volleyball team survived a tight first set against a conference opponent, and the Broncos romped in their final two sets in defeating the Buffalo Bulls 3-0 (26-24, 25-14, 25-15) at University Arena on Saturday. With the win, the Broncos improve to 13-8 overall, 6-2 in the Mid-American Conference.
The Broncos controlled things defensively against the Bulls, out-digging them 62-46 and holding Buffalo to a .099 hitting percentage. Lena Oliver recorded a match-high 21 digs, with Kaycee Acree recording 13 digs and Caroline Rose 12 digs. Jessica Brown recorded 11 kills on 23 swings for a .304 hitting percentage, and Stephenee Yancy had 10 kills with no errors for a .500 hitting percentage.
The Broncos won both the second and third sets of the matches by double digits, but the first set provided enough drama for the entire match. The Bulls built themselves an impressive advantage in the first set, leading by as many as six points and eventually taking a 24-19 lead. A service error by Buffalo would open the door for a comeback just a crack, and Brown would rip a kill through the blockers on the right side to pull her team within 24-21.
A Bulls attack error cut the lead to just two points, and Brown recorded a kill on the next point to make it just a one-point set. Gillian Asque went off the block to tie the set at 24, and Ali Gossen gave the Broncos their first lead since they held a 9-8 advantage with a service ace off Dana Musil. Setter Terin Norris unleashed a swing to record a kill, capping a 7-0 run and giving the Broncos a dramatic 26-24 set victory.
The comeback seemed to rejuvenate the Broncos, while at the same time sucking the wind from the sails of the Bulls.The Broncos were in firm control of the rest of the match, starting with a sharply-played second set. Yancy and Carlee Berland notched kills on the first two points of the set to give the Broncos the lead for good in the second set, and WMU capped a set-opening 10-6 run with another kill from Berland. WMU went on a short 4-0 run in the middle of the set, with Berland bookending the run with a kill and a solo block, respectively, and making it 18-7. Asque pushed one through the block in the middle late in the set to give the Broncos a 24-14 lead, and Brown finished the Bulls off with a kill on the next point.
Buffalo held tight through the first nine points of the third set, but the Broncos embarked on an 11-2 run early in the set to create the necessary distance to close out the match. A series of Bulls errors gave the Broncos an 8-4 lead, and the Broncos build a 10-5 lead when Berland recorded a kill. Norris and Yancy recorded a block to make the score 12-6, and Norris would record a dump kill on the next point to force a Buffalo timeout.The lead reached double-digits on a kill from Asque that made it 22-12, and Berland delivered the kill shot with a cross court kill at 25-15.
Toledo def. Kent State, 3-0
TOLEDO, OH – Toledo utilized a balanced attack to register a 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 27-25) sweep over Kent State on Saturday evening in Savage Arena. The victory was the Rockets’ sixth-straight win over the Golden Flashes (5-15, 2-6 MAC) and improved UT’s record to 8-12 overall and 2-6 in conference play.
Senior OH Sondra Parys led Toledo with a match-high 14 kills and .400 attack percentage and was joined in double figures by junior RSH Becca Reidy (11 kills) and junior OH Lauren Rafdal (10 kills). Junior S Adria Pryor quarterbacked the Rocket attack with 43 assists and helped UT post a .255 hitting mark.
Junior MB Dakota Harkins and sophomore MB Brooke Frazer topped Toledo’s defensive stellar showing at the net with five blocks apiece. UT garnered 10 blocks in the match compared to just four for KSU. Senior libero McCall Paynter led the Rockets with 11 digs.
Sophomore OH Tinuke Aderemi-Ibitola was the Golden Flashes’ offensive leader with 10 kills with junior libero Hannah Herc collecting a match-best 14 digs.
The Rockets jumped on the visitors early by scoring seven of the match’s first eight points. UT then enjoyed a comfortable 19-12 cushion until KSU went on a 7-3 spurt to climb within three points at 22-19. UT was forced to call timeout when the Golden Flashes climbed to within 24-22, but Harkins ended the set with a tip kill.
Toledo led the entire second set as well and broke away from Kent State with a four-point spurt buoyed by two Reidy kills. Parys then ended the stanza with a pair of kills to give the Rockets a 2-0 advantage.
The third set was the tightest of the contest and KSU held a 11-10 lead when a 6-2 run by the Rockets gave them a 16-12 advantage. The Golden Flashes wouldn’t go away quietly though and eventually tied the score at 24-24 on an Aderemi-Ibitola kill. UT was ended any hopes of a Kent State comeback though thanks to a Parys kill and block from Harkins and Pryor to end the match.
Toledo returns to action on Tuesday, Oct. 16 with a non-conference matchup vs. IPFW. Match time in Savage Arena is set for 6:00 p.m.
Bowling Green def. Central Michigan, 3-2
Mount Pleasant, Mich. – The Bowling Green volleyball team keeps one-upping itself match-after-match, finding new and interesting ways to win each time out. The Falcons won their ninth consecutive match and improved to 8-0 in MAC play by overcoming a 7-2 fifth-set deficit Saturday night against Mid-American Conference West Division leader Central Michigan in a 25-20, 21-25, 25-21, 23-25, 15-11 victory.
Bowling Green has won four straight matches in five sets with each one being almost more illogical than the last. A week ago, the Falcons overcome a 7-3 fifth-set deficit to defeat MAC preseason favorite Western Michigan. On Tuesday, BGSU beat Oakland at its own game with 112 digs in a five-set win. Friday night, the Falcons overcome a two-set deficit to beat Eastern Michigan before Saturday’s comeback in the fifth set against the defending MAC Tournament champions and MAC West leader.
Neither team was very sharp offensively in Saturday evening’s clash of the division leaders in the MAC. The Falcons hit just .152 and Central Michigan finished at .160. In fact, it was the second-lowest attack percentage in a winning effort for Bowling Green this year. But the Falcons found a way to come up big when it mattered in the fifth set.
“This wasn’t our best match and the credit goes to CMU for putting a lot of pressure on us offensively and defensively,” BGSU Head Coach Danijela Tomic said. “However, the beauty of a team sport is that even when our players struggle individually, our team finds a way to persevere and prevail.”
It looked bleak after a Danielle Tonyan attack error gave Central Michigan a 7-2 lead in the fifth set but the Falcons rallied with five straight points that included two Paige Penrod kills and a Cassie Berning service ace. BGSU still trailed 9-8 when Penrod posted another kill to tie the score. Tonyan followed with a kill that gave the Falcons the lead for good and Bowling Green scored the next four points for a 14-9 lead. After Central Michigan cut the deficit to three, Penrod had her match-high 16th and final kill for the 15-11 win.
While Penrod ended with those 16 kills, Tonyan and Lindsey Butterfield added `14 each. The Falcons kept CMU from finding much offensive rhythm with a solid night defensively as four players finished with double-digit dig totals. Ashley Dunn led the way with 24 and Laura Avila added 16. Penrod had 14 and Tonyan finished with 12.
That fifth set came on the heels of four tight sets in which Bowling Green took leads with first and third set victories but CMU stormed back with second and fourth set wins. The Falcons used a 10-2 run midway through the first to take an early lead and then pulled away in the third set on the strength of Leah Shaw’s service game late.
“This was a tough match between two great teams with a lot of heart,” Tomic said. “The difference was that we made some great plays in the fifth set when it mattered. Our team never gives up and we believe that we can win no matter what the score is. It’s all about being mentally tough and our team has shown over and over again that we have all the characteristics of a championship team.”
With the loss, CMU falls to 12-7 overall and 6-2 in MAC play. Bowling Green is now 13-7 overall and leads Ohio by one game in the conference standings at 8-0. The Falcons face two more West Division opponents this weekend at home as the team hosts Ball State, 3-5 in league play, Friday night at 7 p.m. and rival Toledo, 2-6 in the MAC, Saturday night at 7 p.m.
Northern Illinois def. Akron, 3-2
DeKALB, Ill. – It wasn’t easy, but the Northern Illinois volleyball team gutted out a comeback 23-25, 25-18, 18-25, 25-23, 15-10 win Saturday night at Victor E. Court over Akron in a cross-divisional Mid-American Conference meeting. The Huskies (15-9, 6-2 MAC) used slim kills (59-54), digs (85-81) and blocks (13-11) edges to nip the Zips (10-10, 3-5 MAC) for the ninth straight time.
“I first want to congratulate (Akron Head Coach) Ron [Arenz) and his team – we’ve watch them on tape a few times and they are a good team and play incredibly hard,” said NIU Head Coach Ray Gooden. “We knew were going to have to play our best to win. I don’t know if we played our best, but we grinded it out as a team.”
Coming up on the winning side for the fifth time in their last six matches at home, the Huskies truly had to earn this one. After letting a 20-18 lead slip away in the first set, NIU bounced back with a strong second set win. The Huskies used a 14-9 run to start the frame and a .294-.128 hitting edge to knot the match at the break.
In the swing set, NIU came out flat as the Zips scored the first five points. NIU closed the gap to 17-15 later but would get no closer, leaving the Huskies with their backs against the wall at home.
But winning in five is nothing new to the Huskies this year as they are now 4-1 in five-setters. In a must-win fourth set, NIU jumped out to a 19-10 lead and looked as if a fifth set was rapidly approaching. However, a late 11-3 run by the Zips left NIU with just a 22-21 lead. Needing a point in the worst way, sophomore outside hitter MacKenzie Roddy (San Bernardino, Calif./Cajon) scored a kill and senior outside Meghan Romo (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) followed suit on the next play. After two Huskie attack errors from the duo, Romo put an emphatic end to the set with a shot down the line to force a match-deciding fifth set.
With both teams fatigued and needing to wipe the court with a towel after nearly every point in the final two stanzas, it was Akron that struck first in the fifth. The Zips marched out to a 4-1 lead thanks to three Huskie errors. As NIU did all night, though, it fought back to tie it at 6-6 following kills from Roddy and Romo.
Then, three straight NIU attack errors put the Huskies in a 9-6 hole. Out of a timeout, Akron missed on the ensuing serve to end the run. After the teams exchanged points, freshman setter Alexis Gonzalez (Fresno, Calif./Bullard) took over with her serve. The rookie used a variety of top spin jump serves to put all sorts of pressure on the Zips, who struggled to cleanly pass Gonzalez’s bullets. Getting Akron out of system helped the Huskies end the match on an 8-0 run in front of a frenzied homecoming crowd.
“Pookie came out with her serve toward the end for a great run,” Gooden said. “I thought our bumpers did a great job tonight, keeping balls alive. All in all, it was about our team and it was great to finish up the home stand on a positive note.”
Roddy led NIU with 17 kills and added a career-high 19 digs and season-best four blocks. Romo tallied 16 kills and seven digs. Middle blockers Sarah Angelos (Waukegan, Ill./Waukegan) and Mary Kurisch (La Crosse, Wis./West Salem) had 11 and 10 kills, respectively, and both hit over .300. Gonzalez handed out 50 assists and had two aces to go with a season-high 16 digs.
Defensively, senior libero Amber Walker (Juneau, Alaska/Juneau Douglas/Western Oregon) led the match with 20 digs. Senior Sue Hayes (Evergreen Park, Ill./Mother McAuley) also had double figure digs with 12. For the second straight match, sophomore Emily Paschke (Winfield, Ill./West Chicago Community) paced the team in blocks with a career-high six.
NIU wraps up cross-divisional play on the road by traveling to Ohio for a 6 PM CT match on Fri., Oct. 19 and going to Kent State for a 6 PM match on Sat., Oct. 20.