The Miami University volleyball team started off on the wrong foot in its Mid-American Conference (MAC) opener at home against Kent State University (KSU) and Ohio University (OU), losing 2-3 and 0-3, respectively.
"We lost our confidence this weekend and it showed on the court," Head Coach Carolyn Condit said.
Miami (5-10, 0-2 MAC) kicked off the weekend Friday night against KSU (5-9, 1-0 MAC) in a five-set marathon (25-19, 23-25, 25-15, 13-25, 7-15) that would eventually lead to a Golden Flashes victory.
The RedHawks traded blows with Kent State, as they practically matched the Flashes point for point, splitting the first four sets. The Red and White struggled to muster up offense in the final set, while the Golden Flashes got out to a 7-1 lead and never looked back, taking the match.
Key contributors for Miami included sophomore setter/outside hitter Meg Riley and junior libero Madison Hardy. Riley put together a near triple-double of 21 kills, 21 assists and eight digs, while Hardy accounted for 20 of the RedHawks' 54 digs.
Unfortunately, the 'Hawks made 22 errors in the match compared to KSU's 16. Kent State took advantage of Miami's miscues, however, and senior middle blocker Kathy Krupa had the best match of her career with 16 kills, 3 aces and a hitting percentage of .542.
The RedHawks were then swept by Ohio (6-8, 1-1 MAC) Saturday evening (23-25, 11-25, 17-25), marking the team's second loss to a MAC East Division foe over the weekend.
Both teams came out of the gates playing well in the first set, but OU made the plays it needed down the stretch to get the set point. The Bobcats asserted themselves in the second set with a 15-3 run to take the lead as Miami continued to struggle offensively. The Red and White fought valiantly in what would be the clinching set, but could not keep up with the 'Cats as they clinched the sweep.
Hardy had another big night for the 'Hawks recording 20 digs again. Senior setter Amy Kendall also played well for Miami, recording a double-double of 11 assists and 11 digs. Senior outside hitter Christina Menche added six kills to go with a hitting percentage of .312.
However, the Red and White could not get on track offensively as OU held them to a .087 hitting percentage. One of the keys to the Bobcat attack was sophomore outside hitter Kelli Lamberti's 17 kills, nine digs and five assisted blocks.
"We lost ball control and we couldn't do the things we wanted to do," Condit said. "I'm proud of the way Hardy and Menche are playing. We passed well to give Christina opportunities."
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Madison Hardy said the weekend provided some startling challenges.
"It was an eye-opening experience for us," Hardy said. "The scores and the standings don't reflect how good we are. We kept fighting against Kent State and faced really stiff competition against OU."
After the match Saturday, Hardy and Kendall were recognized for recording 1,000 digs and 2,000 assists in their careers, respectively.
Miami heads to Buffalo, NY Friday to face the University at Buffalo. The team then heads west to compete against the University of Akron Saturday. The RedHawks return to Millett Hall Oct. 6 to square off against Northern Illinois University.
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