Sports Briefs 11/4

Soccer

The Hurricanes earned a dramatic victory on Senior Night at Cobb Stadium.

On Thursday, Miami faced Clemson in the regular season finale, coming away with a 2-1 win.

Seniors Tara Schwitter and Blake Stockton were honored before the game.

Stockton scored first for Miami in the 86th minute.

Freshman forward Cortney O’Connell then provided the heroics when she knocked in a strike with her left foot as time wound down in regulation.

“I saw the ball coming to her and in my head I kept saying to myself, ‘Hit it one time, hit it one time, hit it one time,’” said coach Mary-Frances Monroe, explaining the urgency of O’Connell’s kick. “All season we had joked with her because she hadn’t struck a ball well with her left foot. She couldn’t have hit it any better today.”

 

Rowing

The Miami rowing team made the most of its only regatta on the fall schedule.

The Canes finished third among ACC teams at the “Head of the Hooch” in Chattanooga, Tenn., from Friday to Sunday.

Miami raced two crews in the Women’s Open 8+ including the winning “A” squad.

The “B” squad finished 21st out of 38 boats.

“Both boats were able to grind away and take some quality strokes,” coach Dave Sanderson said. “It was great to cap off the weekend with another win.”

Overall, the UM team recorded four top-10 finishes throughout the weekend.

 

Volleyball

It was a big weekend for Miami volleyball. The Canes (15-7, 8-4 ACC) notched two wins over N.C. State and UNC.

First, Miami swept the Wolfpack aside in three sets at the Knight Sports Complex.

On Sunday, however, five sets were needed to dispatch the Tar Heels: 21-25, 25-18, 19-25, 25-22, 15-10 in Miami’s favor.

Senior Alex Johnson had 12 digs and 12 kills, surpassing 1,000 career kills in the process.

Coach Jose Gandara was pleased with Johnson’s performance and her offensive milestone.

“She is a steady player for us,” he said. “We need her to do a lot of things. She digs, attacks, passes, serves and blocks. She faces tough matchups all the time and still succeeds. It’s awesome. She’s had a long career here and played a lot of matches. We hope she has a couple more in her.”

Miami will hit the road for a pair of games later this week. The Canes face Virginia Tech on Friday and Virginia on Saturday.

 

Spencer Dandes may be emailed at sports@themiamihurricane.com.