Nov. 24, 2006

Box Score

OXFORD,OH-In the second game of Miami's match against Fairfield, junior middle hitter Carli Reihman (Cincinnati, OH/St. Ursuline) became the 15th Miami member to reach the 1,000 kill plateau for her career. Despite Reihman's milestone, the RedHawks (13-18) dropped a four-game match to Fairfield (24-7) in the opening round of the Miami Thanksgiving Invitational.

In the first game, neither team could garner a lead of more than two points until a kill by sophomore outside hitter Emily Schroeder (Indianapolis, IN/Bishop Chatard) and an attack error by Fairfield gave Miami a 19-16 advantage. The Stags rebounded by taking 12 of the next 13 points due to strong serving by Barbie Thistle and Karlie Urbaniak, giving Fairfield a 28-20 lead. A Miami attack error gave the Stags a 30-22 Game-One win.

Fairfield jumped out early on the RedHawks in Game Two and took a commanding seven-point cushion at 14-7. The RedHawks remained down six, when Miami rallied off nine straight points to take a 21-18 lead. During the rally, Reihman collected four kills, including her 1,000th kill of her career that knotted the game at 18-18. Two errors cut the Miami lead to one at 21-20, but Miami willed itself to a 30-26 win.

Miami grabbed the first two points of Game Three thanks to a kill by freshman middle hitter Megan Griffin (Cincinnati, OH/Seton) and a service ace by freshman setter Andrea Atteberry (Schererville, IN/Lake Central). Miami held a lead at 3-2, but the Stags jumped ahead at 5-4 and would not relinquish their lead for the rest of the game. A kill and a service ace by freshman middle hitter Hallie Hanks (Chagrin Falls/Kenston) cut the Miami deficit to one at 8-7, but Fairfield slowly pulled away and managed to win game three 30-24.

Fairfield kept the pressure on by taking eight of the first nine points of game four. With Miami facing a nine-point deficit at 10-19, two Stag attack errors, and kills by Hanks, Griffin, and sophomore outside hitter Cristina Piazza (St. Charles, IL/ St. Charles) cut the Fairfield lead to four at 19-15. However, the rest of the game went point-for-point and the Stags took game four and the match, 30-24.

Hanks led the RedHawks with a career-high 17 kills, while Griffin followed with 14 kills. Reihman posted a double-double with 11 kills and 17 digs, while Schroeder also collected double-digit kills with 10. Piazza collected career-highs in kills (7), digs (10), and block assists (3). Junior libero Ashley Melone (Bloomfield Hills, MI/Marian) also set a career-high with 15 digs.

Kelly Oliver led the Stags with 17 kills and Brandi Higa posted a match-high 28 digs for Fairfield.

Printer-friendly format	Email this article