The Miami Hurricanes hosted the Hurricane Invitational at the Knight Complex this weekend and brought the crowd to their feet on two consecutive nights for back to back wins.
The Canes got their first win of the season Friday night when they defeated the George Washington University Colonials 3-2.
Miami impressed in the first set, registering a .481 hitting percentage and 16 kills to win 25-19, highlighted by five kills from redshirt junior Elizaveta Lukianova and four kills from junior Cameron Dobbs.
The second set was a back and forth contest, but George Washington ultimately pulled away to take the set 25-21. Miami’s 17 kills were not enough to overcome GW, who recorded seven blocks and 11 kills. Freshman Kennedy Prince had six kills while transfer Janet Kalaniuvala had five.
George Washington jumped out to an early 11-4 lead in the third set, but Miami was able to mount an impressive rally to win the set 25-22, no doubt in part to 16 kills they had. Six different Canes recorded at least one kill, and Lukianova and Prince had 5 kills apiece.
The Canes quickly took a 9-3 lead in the fourth set but the Colonials came back to tie the score and take the set 25-18. Miami struggled hitting, recording a .030 hitting percentage
The match ultimately came down to the 5th set, where Miami was able to sneak out a 15-13 win.
Saturday’s match also resulted in a 3-0 win for the Canes, this time over the University of South Florida.
Elizaveta Lukianova was the star of the night, recording eight kills in the 25-21 first set win. The Canes fell behind early, but were able to come back with help from Lukianova and freshman Savannah Vach, who had 12 assists in the set.
The second set featured nine lead changes and the score tied 19 times, but Miami was able to pull away and win the set by a score of 29-26. Prince had eight of the teams 21 kills in the set.
The Canes dominated the Bulls in the final set to win 25-19. Lukianova had six kills and Prince had five, while junior transfer Janet Kalaniuvalu had three kills.
Miami doesn’t open ACC play until the end of September, but will travel to Fort Worth, Texas this weekend to play TCU and Auburn.