Preview: Miami Volleyball looks to start 2024 season strong at the Norfolk State Invitational

The Miami University RedHawks volleyball team is entering a new era in 2024 and will begin its season this weekend at the Norfolk State Invitational in Norfolk, Virginia.

The Invitational is three games from Aug. 30-31, with the opening match against the Lamar University Cardinals at 12:30 p.m. on Friday.

The Cardinals finished the 2023 season last in the Southland Conference with a 2-27 regular season record. This will be the first matchup between the Cardinals and the RedHawks in program history.

The RedHawks return to the court at 3:30 p.m. against the Gardner-Webb University Runnin’ Bulldogs, who they last played in 2013.

Gardner-Webb finished last season with a 14-13 record, placing seventh in the Big South Conference.

The RedHawks took the victory in 2013, but Gardner-Webb is no stranger to Mid-American Conference (MAC) opponents in recent years. The Runnin’ Bulldogs defeated the Eastern Michigan University Eagles 3-1 last year in the Chattanooga Classic on their way to winning the tournament.

The RedHawks conclude the three-game tournament slate against the hosts, the Norfolk State University Spartans, on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. The Spartans went 9-14 last season and finished fifth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. This will be the first matchup between the two programs.

Miami prepares to face multiple unfamiliar opponents, but that is not the only uncharted territory about the upcoming weekend and beyond.

This season, the RedHawks will be without coaching legend Carolyn Condit, who retired last year after 40 seasons with Miami.

During the offseason, however, Miami found its fifth head coach in program history: Dan Gwitt.

Gwitt had previously been an assistant coach at Penn State University and Indiana University, where he was known for his top recruiting classes in the Big 10 Conference.

During his two years at Penn State, the Nittany Lions made it to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament in 2022 and 2023. He also had a prominent role as a recruiter for Penn State, bringing in a top-10 recruiting class in each of his two seasons.

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Under the new regime, the RedHawks will look for improvement from previous seasons.

Last year, the RedHawks finished 5-25 (1-17 in MAC play) and took the bottom spot in the conference for the second straight season.

The RedHawks are looking to turn the ship around and have the first winning season in three years.

“I really think people are going to be shocked by who we are and what we can do,” Gwitt said when speaking to Miami Athletics.

The Coaches Preseason Poll picked Miami to finish tenth in the MAC, but the RedHawks hope to defy expectations with many players coming back to Oxford this season.

This year, the RedHawks have 12 returners, including junior outside hitter Ellie Hanson, who led the team in kills (301), service aces (31), points (338.5) and digs (294).

Miami also returns junior setter Hayden Hicks, who led the team in assists (721), and junior middle hitter Gentry Warrick, who was top 10 in the MAC in both blocks (98.0) and hitting percentage (.308).

Six first-years arrive in Oxford to replace the four players lost from last year. The biggest loss for the team is middle hitter Maggie McCrary, who spent four seasons in the Red and White, appearing in 108 matches and totaling 513 kills and 218 blocks. She transferred to the Illinois State University Redbirds this offseason.

Without McCrary, the team looks to both first-year Lydia Michelin and redshirt sophomore Amyah Cooper for production in her role along with Warrick.

The team aspires to have a positive first weekend on the road. Gwitt has a lot of hope for the RedHawks this year and will hope to make a splash in his first year as the head coach.

“I expect them to think they are going to win,” Gwitt said at Miami’s first practice on Aug. 8. “I expect them to be a great team no matter who they play, support each other and train like professionals.”

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