Coming off a weekend defeating the third-place team in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Division and taking the best team in the East to five sets, the Miami University volleyball team seeks to close out the regular season on a high note as it travels to take on the University at Buffalo (16-11, 4-10 MAC) and the University of Akron (8-17, 2-12 MAC).
The RedHawks (11-15, 3-11 MAC) have been eliminated from MAC postseason contention.
They lost in four sets to Buffalo earlier in the season while having a repeat performance of the 3-0 victory over Akron.
The Bulls hope to stop the bleeding this weekend as they have dropped seven straight matches, with five of them going to extra sets. Sophomore outside hitter Tahleia Bishop has been productive on offense this season with 3.61 kills per set, the fourth highest in the MAC. Senior middle blocker Carissa McKenna and sophomore middle blocker Amber Hatchett have combined for 2.52 blocks per set this season, while senior libero Kelly Svoboda leads the conference with 5.74 digs per set. Bishop and Svoboda were named MAC East Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week after collecting 51 kills and seven digs per set last weekend, respectively.
The Bulls host Bowling Green State University, second place in the East, Saturday.
"We had one of our worst matches against Buffalo earlier this season," head coach Carolyn Condit said. "They had a great offense with effective hitters and good blockers. Their platform skills were superb. We need to play as a team with good decision-making. We need to contain their outside hitters, set up a good block against their middles and serve tough."
Akron is hoping to end its season on a strong note, after snapping a 13-match losing streak with wins over Buffalo and Ball State University. Freshman setter Karley Kusan has done well with running the Zips offense, registering 7.81 assists per set, which is ninth in the MAC.
Akron is last in the conference in hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage, assists, kills, blocks and digs. The Zips take on Bowling Green prior to hosting Miami and are 1-7 against East Division foes.
Junior setter/outside hitter Meg Riley and senior libero Madison Hardy were honorary mentions for MAC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week with Riley recording 31 kills, 49 assists and 17 digs during the weekend and Hardy posting 52 digs. Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Jenny Ingle has also done work on both ends as she hit .347 this season, which is third-best in the conference, and registered 57 total blocks this season.
"This week, we're just working on our all-around skills," Ingle said. "We're doing a lot of serving... [Last weekend's matches] were building blocks. It was a tough loss to OU, but we learned to always keep fighting, to fight in all situations and come back."
The RedHawks are winless in MAC matches on the road this season.
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"Last weekend, our middles weren't as involved as we'd like," Condit said. "We're working on their shot selection and have the setters and hitters give them the ball."
The RedHawks take on Buffalo 7 p.m. Friday and square off against Akron 5 p.m. Saturday.
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