The Miami University volleyball team dropped a 0-3 (18-25, 18-25, 17-25) decision to Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Division rival Bowling Green State University (BGSU) Thursday night, pushing its losing skid to seven matches.

The Falcons’ attack proved too much for the RedHawks as they put together large runs of 8-2, 7-2 and 10-3 to seal the match win.

The Red and White (5-13, 0-5 MAC) struggled on offense at BGSU (9-7, 5-0 MAC), registering a hitting percentage of .078 and did not record as many kills, assists, digs or blocks as Bowling Green. A lone bright spot for the ’Hawks would be senior outside hitter Amy Kendall, who recorded 17 of Miami’s 29 assists.

“We fought as a team and we know that if we work hard together this week and in the weeks to come it will be a great season for us,” Kendall said.

Junior right side hitter Danielle Tonyan and junior left side hitter Paige Penrod paced Bowling Green’s offense, who accounted for 26 of the 43 Falcon kills. As a team, they had a hitting percentage of .348 and recorded nine more blocks than Miami. BGSU faces Western Michigan University (WMU) at home this weekend.

“Bowling Green is a very experienced team and their steady play kept us in check all night long,” Head Coach Carolyn Condit said. “Lisa Treadway and Jenny Ingle hit well, but our team failed to put a complete match together. Their consistency shows why they are leading the MAC right now. We’ll regroup and be ready for Northern Illinois on Saturday.”

Miami returns to Oxford 5 p.m. Saturday to face the defending MAC champions, Northern Illinois University (NIU), in an interdivisional matchup. NIU (12-8, 3-1 MAC) hosted WMU Thursday night and head into Millett with plenty of momentum.

The Huskies went 2-0 in their MAC home openers against Ball State University (BSU) (3-1) and the University of Toledo (UT) (3-0), and have won nine of their last 12 matches. Against BSU and UT, junior defensive specialist Justine Schepler averaged three digs per set and led Northern Illinois’ defense, holding the teams to a hitting percentage of .200. Another key for NIU is senior outside hitter Meghan Romo, who is averaging 3.46 kills per set, the sixth highest in the MAC.

However, the Huskies are 1-1 when facing MAC opponents on the road this year and have yet to face a MAC East foe at this point.

The Red and White are excited to return to Oxford where the team won three of its five matches this season and will look to knock off NIU as it are searches for its first home MAC win.

Prior to Saturday’s match, the RedHawks will be at the Marcum Conference Inn from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to acknowledge the 40th anniversary of Title IX with a “Luncheon with the Legends,” where current student athletes hear about the inequity of women’s sport from Miami alums as well as resident coaches and professors. Tickets to this event can be purchased through muredhawks.com or by calling (513)-529-HAWK.