Oct. 15, 2009

Game Notes Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan

OXFORD, Ohio - After two consecutive weekends on the road and with two more weekends on the road coming up, the Miami volleyball team gets a brief respite at home with a match against Central Michigan on Friday at 7 p.m. and one against Eastern Michigan on Saturday at 5 p.m. The matches are part of the Women’s Bicentennial Reunion Weekend and the 1997 and 1998 MAC Championship teams will be honored.

DIG PINK: The game against Central Michigan is the annual Dig Pink game for Miami. As the RedHawks join with all 330 NCAA Division I volleyball teams in the fight against breast cancer, fans will have the opportunity to purchase pink wristbands to show their support, as well as make donations. There will be some fun giveaways for those in attendance.

ABOUT CENTRAL MICHIGAN: The Chippewas are 10-6 overall this year and 3-3 in the MAC. They dropped a couple of matches on the road last weekend, falling, 2-3, to Northern Illinois on Friday, and following it up with a 1-3 setback at Western Michigan on Saturday. Junior outside hitter Lauren Krupsky has been their top offensive threat in 2009. She has 214 kills on the year, an average of 3.69 per set.

THE SERIES AGAINST THE CHIPPEWAS: Miami leads the all-time series with Central Michigan 28-21-1. The RedHawks have had the advantage lately, winning the previous six meetings. Last season in Mt. Pleasant, Miami came away with a 3-1 victory in a match that featured Maria Leahy and Megan Griffin each putting down 13 kills, as well as Andrea Atteberry recording her 3,000th career assist.

ABOUT EASTERN MICHIGAN: Eastern Michigan is 3-19 overall and 2-4 in the MAC. They have been very competitive in conference play, taking at least one set from every opponent they’ve played except Kent State. Last weekend, they fell to Western Michigan, 1-3, on Friday and Northern Illinois, 2-3, on Saturday. A very young team in which 11 of 15 players are either freshmen or sophomores, the Eagles are led by freshman outside hitter Rachel Iaquaniello. She is a dual threat, averaging 3.29 kills per set and 2.35 digs per set.

THE SERIES AGAINST THE EAGLES: The RedHawks lead the all-time series 33-12 against Eastern Michigan and have won four straight. On Oct. 18, 2008, Miami defeated the Eagles 3-0 in Ypsilanti. Andrea Atteberry had a double-double with 46 assists and 14 digs in that match.

TEAM LEADERS SO FAR: Senior outside hitter Maria Leahy has been the RedHawks’ offensive leader in 2009. She has 198 kills, an average of 3.00 kills per set. Behind her are senior outside hitter Megan Griffin and senior outside hitter Hallie Hanks. Each has 134 kills on the year. Hanks has an average of 2.28 kills per set, while Griffin is at 2.14. Junior middle hitter Michele Metzler leads the team in hitting percentage at .296 (for players with 90 or more total attacks). On the defensive side, freshman Lisa Treadway, who has started 15 matches at the libero position, leads the team with 242 digs. That is an average of 3.67 digs per set. She earned MAC East Division Defensive Player of the Week honors for the week of Sept. 6. Leahy continues to show she is a dual threat on the court as she is second on the team with 158 digs. Her willingness to play both offense and defense earned her Defensive Player of the Week honors for the week of Sept. 28. Andrea Atteberry, the team’s setter who is also a strong defensive player, is third with 113 digs. A triple-double of 10 kills, 35 assists and 13 digs on Sept. 26 against Buffalo, earned her MAC Offensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 28. Griffin is the RedHawks’ blocking leader with three solo blocks and 57 block assists. Metzler is right behind her with six solo blocks and 40 block assists.

MAC COMPARISONS: In a conference that has shown a lot of parity so far in 2009, Miami ranks near the top in several categories in conference-only statistics. The RedHawks rank third in hitting percentage at .251, trailing only conference leaders Ohio and Western Michigan. They are also fifth in hitting percentage defense at .203. The team is third in finishing its kills, putting down an average of 13.48 per set. Miami ranks seventh in the conference in digs, with an average of 13.90 per set. Individually, the RedHawks have three players in the top ten in hitting percentage. Megan Griffin is third at .357, Michele Metzler is fifth at .341 and Hallie Hanks is 10th at .316. Griffin also ranks third in MAC in blocks per set, with an average of 1.29.