By Christopher Jones, The Miami Student
The Miami University volleyball team competes on its home court for the first time since Sept. 1 at the Miami Invitational this weekend. It comes as a relief to the younger RedHawks, who for the last three tournaments, have traveled across the country.
The 'Hawks were 8-3 at home last season and look to maintain their dominance at home against Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (2-9), Northern Kentucky University (5-5) and University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (8-3).
The toughest opponent Miami (5-5) faces is Green Bay, who has won six of their last seven contests.
Junior middle blocker Megan Powers leads the team in kills (102), while senior setter Emily Riese leads the team with assists (393). Miami and Green Bay have never met before.
Despite its winning streak, UWGB will have its hands full against the Miami tandem of junior middle hitter Paige Hill and sophomore outside hitter Katie Tomasic. The two have a combined 169 kills this season.
MU has split its last six encounters with Northern Kentucky, but the RedHawks won 3-2 in in their last meeting on September 7, 2013. Junior middle hitter Keeley Creamer and redshirt junior Taylor Snyder guide NKU. Creamer has notched 120 kills (3.33 kills per set), while Snyder has totaled 369 assists (10.25/set).
The team is excited to host a tournament at its home court, but winning is the first thing on their minds.
"To be successful at our own tournament, quite honestly we need to serve well," head coach Carolyn Condit said. "We also need to be able to pass the ball well, which is the first contact. And that first contact lets us show off a great offense."
The RedHawks open up the invitational at 4:30 p.m. on Friday at Millett Hall. The team plays Green Bay at 12 p.m. Saturday, and follows with their final match against IPFW at 7:30 p.m.