Oct. 31, 2002
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REDHAWK VOLLEYBALL TEAM HOSTS TOP EAST DIVISION TEAMS
For the second straight week, the Miami University volleyball team's two home matches will be no small task for the RedHawks as they host two of the Mid-American Conference's top teams. Friday night's match pits the RedHawks (8-14; 3-7 MAC) against the Ohio Bobcats, who are ranked second in the East Division with a 17-7 overall record and 7-3 MAC mark. On Sunday, Miami faces the East Division's top team-the Akron Zips. Akron enters the weekend with a-league best 18-4 overall record and a 9-1 conference mark. Last weekend, the Zips toppled Ball State in three games to hand the Cardinals their first MAC loss, but Ohio edged the Zips on Saturday in five games.
ABOUT OHIO
Last weekend, the Bobcats picked up two MAC victories, topping Kent State in three games and Akron in five games to extend their record to 17-7. Laura Hageman leads the team with 3.11 kills per game, 3.42 digs per game, and a team-best 1.31 blocks per game. Lindsay Judice adds another 3.19 kills per game and 2.59 digs per game.
SERIES VERSUS THE BOBCATS
Miami owns a 40-7 lead in the series with Ohio. Last season, the RedHawks and Bobcats each claimed a victory on their home court. Miami fell to Ohio earlier this year in a four-game match in Athens.
ABOUT AKRON
The Zips split a pair of matches last week, beating Ball State in three games and falling to Ohio in five games. The loss to Ohio snapped a 13-match winning streak for Akron. Sandy Lewis paces the Zips with 3.76 kills per game and 3.13 digs per game, while Jenn Snyder adds 3.41 kills per game and a team-best 3.53 digs per game. Monica Morlock is Akron's top blocker, averaging 1.25 blocks per game. Rachel Rush orchestrates the Akron offense, averaging 9.18 assists per game.
SERIES VERSUS THE ZIPS
The RedHawks are 19-7 in the series with Akron and are 12-2 when facing the Zips in Oxford. Miami beat Akron in their last meeting in four games. The RedHawks have dropped four of their last six contests to the Zips.
SENSATIONAL SOPHOMORES
Sophomore outside hitters Angie Zent and Tara Buroker were pivotal parts of the solid effort the RedHawks put forth last week. In a five-game battle with Ball State, Zent, making just the fourth start of her career, stepped in and was a pillar of strength in the RedHawk lineup with 22 kills, a .400 hitting percentage, 28 digs and three solo blocks-all career-high numbers. Buroker also manufactured impressive numbers against the Cardinals, posting 18 kills and 28 digs. For the week, Buroker averaged 3.25 kills per game, and a team-best 5.12 digs per game, while Zent paced the Red and White averaging 3.50 kills per game and 4.38 digs per game.
20/20 VISION
For the first time this season, Miami had a player amass more than 20 kills and 20 digs in a single match. Sophomore outside hitter Angie Zent produced 22 kills and 28 digs in a five-game match for the RedHawks.
EATON MOVES TO SIXTH ON CAREER BLOCK ASSIST CHART
Collecting eight block assists last week, senior middle hitter Jennifer Eaton moved to sixth on Miami's career block assist chart. Eaton now owns 296 career block assists and needs 12 more move No. 4 and 52 more to capture the record of 347. Senior outside hitter Kelly McCullough owns 289 career block assists and is No. 8 on the career list. Both are chasing Miami's career standard of 347. McCullough needs seven block assists to take over No. 6. With 46 solo blocks, Eaton also is tied for 10th on the RedHawks' career solo block list.
SOLID WEEK FOR POLL
Junior middle hitter Susan Poll helped the RedHawks to a near upset of the previously unbeaten Ball State Cardinals and paced the RedHawks as Miami toppled Marshall in three games to hand the Thundering Herd only their second league loss of the season. Poll's slide attack was virtually unstoppable against Marshall as she led the RedHawks with 16 kills, nine of which came in the third game, including four of Miami's final six points. Against the Herd, Poll averaged an impressive 5.33 kills per game and 1.67 blocks per game and connected on 40 percent of her attacks. In the five-game loss to Ball State Poll produced 1.20 blocks per game and tied a career high with three solo blocks against the Cardinals. For the week, she averaged 3.25 kills per game and 1.38 blocks per game
McCULLOUGH NEARING CAREER KILL TOP TEN LIST
With 60 more kills, senior outside hitter Kelly McCullough will place her name on Miami's career kill list. McCullough enters the weekend with 1,027 career kills. Earlier this month, McCullough became just the 13th player in school history to record 1,000 career kills when she produced 11 kills against Bowling Green.
MAC NUGGETS
Six Miami players rank among Mid-American Conference leaders in the latest MAC statistics (10/28). Senior middle hitter Jennifer Eaton ranks fifth in blocks (1.16), while junior middle hitter Susan Poll is 12th in blocks (1.04) and seventh in hitting percentage (.289). Sophomore outside hitter Tara Buroker averages 3.67 digs per game to rank sixth, while freshman setter Megan Clark averages 9.28 assist per game to rank ninth. Senior outside hitter Kelly McCullough is 11th in service aces (0.34). In league matches, Poll ranks fifth in blocks (1.29) and eighth in hitting percentage (.312), while Eaton is 11th in blocks (1.08) and 15th in service aces (0.32). Buroker averages 3.79 digs per game to rank 11th, and junior setter Melinda McCormick averages 7.54 assists per game to rank 12th.
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 is ranked in the AVCA/USA Today Coaches' Poll and two others are receiving votes. Georgia Tech is No. 23, while Ohio State 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 the first weekend in October. Poll tallied 20 kills over four games at Ohio on Oct. 4 to pace the RedHawks, while she notched 10 blocks (2 solo; 8 assist) in four games at Marshall on Oct. 5.
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 three straight weeks, sophomore outside hitter Tara Buroker (Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) was named to an all-tournament team, earning TCU Invitational All-Tournament Team honors on Sept. 14. 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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