The volleyball team went 3-0 in the Hurricane Invitational held on Friday and Saturday against Seton Hall, Florida A&M and Florida Gulf Coast. The Canes didn’t drop a single set over the weekend, winning every match 3-0.
Even with eight new players on the roster, senior outside hitter and captain Savannah Leaf expected to win all three games.
“I want to win every single game,” Leaf said. “Every time I’m on the floor I want to win, no matter who’s on the court with me.”
Leaf led the Hurricanes in the first match against Seton Hall with a game-high 20 kills. Junior outside hitter Taylor Scott contributed 13 kills of her own, more than any Seton Hall player. Freshman setter Haley Templeton accounted for 40 of the team’s 45 assists.
Seton Hall (2-1) presented by far the toughest challenge for the Canes in the team’s first three games of the season. The Pirates were the only school to crack the 20s against the Hurricanes, losing in straight sets 25-20, 27-25 and 25-22 on Friday night.
The Hurricanes played a much more balanced game against Florida A&M (0-3) Saturday afternoon with no player recording double-digit kills and five players recording at least five. Redshirt sophomore Kelsie Groot led the team with nine kills and 11 digs, tied for game high with junior defensive specialist Kalysta White, as the Canes swept the Rattlers 25-19, 25 17 and 25-15.
Miami finished the Hurricane Invitational with a sweep against Florida Gulf Coast (1-2) on Saturday night. Groot again led the Hurricanes with a game high 13 kills with Leaf just trailing her with 11.
The Canes benefitted from 20 errors by the Eagles compared to eight for Miami. The Canes won the final match of the Invitational 25-10, 25-19 and 25-17.
“We played really well,” Leaf said. “We had a good opening tournament, but there’s still some things we really need to improve on.”