Oct. 23, 2002
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NO SMALL TASK: REDHAWKS HOST NO. 1 AND NO. 2
Miami University volleyball team's two home matches this week will be no small task for the RedHawks as they host two of the Mid-American Conference's top teams. Wednesday night's match pits the Red and White against West Division leader Ball State, which is a perfect 7-0 in league action, while the RedHawks battle Marshall, the No. 2 team in the East Division with a 6-1 MAC record, on Friday. Both matches are at 7 p.m.
McCULLOUGH RECORDS 1,000th CAREER KILL
A kill by Kelly McCullough (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) early in the first game that gave the RedHawks a 12-10 advantage over the visiting Bowling Green Falcons was a monumental one for the senior outside hitter. McCullough's third kill of the match also was the 1,000th of her career as she became just the 13th player in school history to accomplish the feat. McCullough finished the match with 11 kills. She now owns 1,008 career kills and is 79 kills away from placing her name on Miami's career top 10 list.
ABOUT BALL STATE
Last weekend, the Cardinals won a pair of MAC matches, topping Bowling Green in three games and Eastern Michigan in five games to extend their winning streak to nine matches. Sarah Obras leads the team with 4.08 kills per game and 2.67 digs per game. Katie Butts adds another 3.68 kills per game and 2.44 digs per game, as well as holding a team-best 20 service aces.
SERIES VERSUS THE CARDINALS
Ball State owns a 29-28 edge in the series with Miami. Last season, the Cardinals took two matches from the RedHawks, winning both in three games. Miami has fallen to Ball State in their last six meetings. Their last win was a three-game triumph in 1998.
ABOUT MARSHALL
Winners of 15 of their last 17 matches and on a four-match win streak, Marshall enters the week with a 15-5 record. The Thundering Herd topped Western Michigan in three games last week. Tracey King paces The Herd with 3.61 kills per game, while Isabell Anderer adds 2.80 kills per game and a team-best 3.13 digs per game. Heidi Kuethe is Marshall's top blocker, averaging 1.07 blocks per game. Katie Stein orchestrates the Marshall offense, averaging 11.26 assists per game and owns a team-best 34 service aces.
SERIES VERSUS THE THUNDERING HERD
The RedHawks are 10-2 in the series with Marshall and are 4-1 when facing the Thundering Herd in Oxford. Miami fell to Marshall earlier this year in a four-game match in Huntington. The RedHawks have won five of their last six meetings with Marshall.
EATON SEVENTH ON ALL-TIME BLOCK ASSIST CHART;
McCULLOUGH SITS AT EIGHTH ON CAREER BLOCK ASSIST TOP 10 LIST
Senior middle hitter Jennifer Eaton remains seventh on Miami's all-time block assist chart. Heading into the week, Eaton has 288 block assists. Senior outside hitter Kelly McCullough owns 283 career block assists and is No. 8 on the career list. Both are chasing Miami's career standard of 347. Eaton needs eight more block assists to overtake the No. 6 spot, while McCullough needs 11 block assists to take over No. 6.
EATON WITHIN TWO OF PLACING NAME ON CAREER SOLO BLOCK LIST
With just two more solo blocks, senior middle hitter Jennifer Eaton will place her name on Miami's career solo block chart. Eaton currently owns 44 solo blocks and is attempting to tie Alissia Thompson (1996-99) for tenth on the career chart with 46.
MAC NUGGETS
Five Miami players rank among Mid-American Conference leaders in the latest MAC statistics (10/21). Senior outside hitter Erika Eagan ranks sixth in service aces (0.41), while senior outside hitter Kelly McCullough is 10th in service aces (0.36). Senior middle hitter Jennifer Eaton ranks sixth in blocks (1.15), sophomore outside hitter Tara Buroker is ninth in digs (3.52), junior middle hitter Susan Poll ranks seventh in hitting percentage (.288) and 14th in blocks (1.00), and freshman setter Megan Clark ranks ninth in assists (9.13). In MAC only contests, Eagan ranks seventh in digs (4.03), Poll is seventh in hitting percentage (.318) and eighth in blocks (1.27), while Eaton and Buroker are tied for 13th in service aces (0.37). Buroker also ranks 14th in digs (3.43). Junior setter Melinda McCormick ranks 12th in assists (7.65).
ACES ARE WILD
In league games, Miami is leading the MAC in service aces, averaging 1.87 per game as a team.
EATON NAMED MAC'S EAST DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK AND FEMALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Leading Miami University's volleyball team to its first pair of Mid-American Conference wins of the season and snapping a six-match losing skid, senior middle hitter Jennifer Eaton was named the MAC East Division Player of the Week and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Week.
Eaton paced the RedHawks with a .529 hitting percentage for the weekend as Miami upped its record to 7-11 and 2-4 in MAC action with a three-game win over Buffalo (30-24, 30-18, 30-18) and a four-game win over Kent State (30-25, 29-31, 30-28, 30-20). In Miami's win over Buffalo, Eaton averaged 3.00 kills per game and notched a .692 hitting percentage. She made no hitting errors and connected on nine of 13 attempts. Against Kent State, Eaton collected her second double-double of the season, notching 11 kills and 13 digs. She also added a team-best seven blocks to her performance to average 1.75 blocks per game against the Golden Flashes and also posted a .429 hitting percentage and launched two service aces. She made only two attack errors all weekend. Over the weekend matches, Eaton averaged 1.29 blocks, 2.86 kills, and 2.71 digs per game in addition to her stellar .529 hitting percentage.
This is the second career conference player of the week and scholar-athlete of the week honor for Eaton. Following back-to-back triple-doubles last season, Eaton garnered her first player of the week accolade.
TOUGH FOES
Six of Miami's 12 non-conference opponents advanced to the 2001 NCAA Tournament: Louisville, Georgia Tech, Ohio State, Cincinnati, San Jose State and Florida A&M. Four of those six reached the second round, while Ohio State went on to the regional semifinal. One team are ranked in the AVCA/USA Today Coaches' Poll and others are receiving votes. Georgia Tech is No. 24, while Ohio State, Louisville and Washington are receiving votes.
ROAD WARRIORS
Following the Miami Best Western/Sycamore Inn Classic, the RedHawks host only one home match over a five-week span. Miami played in the Georgia Tech and TCU tournaments and at Cincinnati, No. 13 Ohio State and Dayton over the first two and a half weeks of that stretch. The RedHawks returned home to host Western Ontario on Sept. 21 before opening league action on the road for two straight weekends.
McCULLOUGH LAUNCHES CAREER-HIGH FIVE ACES
Earlier this season senior outside hitter Kelly McCullough tallied four service aces against Stephen F. Austin. This weekend, McCullough launched a career-best five service aces against Kent State to help lift the RedHawks to their second consecutive conference win. In the first game against the Golden Flashes, McCullough served up three consecutive aces.
POLL RECORDS TWO CAREER HIGHS
Junior middle hitter Susan Poll set two career-high marks over the weekend. Poll tallied 20 kills over four games at Ohio on Friday to pace the RedHawks, while she notched 10 blocks (2 solo; 8 assist) in four games at Marshall.
POLL NAMED MAC EAST DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Following a weekend where she earned TCU Invitational MVP laurels, Miami University junior middle hitter Susan Poll was named Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week. Poll earned tournament MVP honors, the first of her career, and was on only the second all-tournament team of her career. Earlier this season, Poll was named to the Miami Classic All-Tournament Team. For the week, she averaged 3.60 kills and had a .350 hitting percentage to lead the team. Never having served up an ace in her career, Poll registered four over the week, including a career-high two against San Jose State. Against the Horned Frogs, she paced the team with 4.00 kills per game and a .394 hitting percentage. In the opening match of the tournament against Stephen F. Austin, Poll averaged 3.50 kills per game and produced a .440 hitting percentage. This is the first player of the week honor for Poll.
BUROKER NAMED TO THIRD ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
For the third straight week, sophomore outside hitter Tara Buroker (Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) was named to an all-tournament team, earning TCU Invitational All-Tournament Team honors. Buroker has been named to every all-tournament team this season.
ENDURANCE DAY
On Sept. 14, the RedHawks' endurance was tested as the squad played nine games over a seven-hour stretch. Miami upended San Jose State in a grueling five-game match, which started at 10 a.m. and lasted two hours and 15 minutes. The RedHawks then had to turn around and face host TCU at 3 p.m. with little recovery time but came up short in a four-game loss to the Horned Frogs in a two-hour match. With the morning win over San Jose State, Miami assured itself the tournament title.
BUROKER NAMED MAC EAST DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore outside hitter Tara Buroker wasted no time making her presence felt on the court for the RedHawks in their season-opening weekend and earned Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week honors for her efforts. For the weekend, Buroker, who earned Miami Classic All-Tournament Team laurels, paced the RedHawks averaging 4.20 digs and 3.40 kills per game. This is the first player of the week honor for Buroker.
MIAMI CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Three players earned all-tournament team laurels at the Miami Best Western/Sycamore Inn Classic: sophomore outside hitter Tara Buroker, senior outside hitter Erika Eagan and junior middle hitter Susan Poll. This was the first time any of the three players have earned all-tournament team honors.
BUROKER'S "BUR"-EAK OUT
Sophomore outside hitter Tara Buroker, the youngest captain named during head coach Carolyn Condit's 19-year tenure, burst out of the gates in Miami's season opener against IPFW to amass a career-best 29 digs, 17 kills and a .385 hitting percentage to lead the RedHawks in all three categories. In the first game against the Mastodons, Buroker compiled an impressive 15 of her 29 digs. For the weekend, Buroker paced the RedHawks averaging 4.20 digs and 3.40 kills per game.
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