Miami football lost for the first time this season and soccer’s regular season ended in a loss, but everybody else went a combined 6-0.
Here’s the latest edition of the Hurricane Huddle (11/4 – 11/11):
Football: Life without Toney starts with a loss
Miami found out what life without Malachi Toney looks like, and the first half was ugly.
Toney, who leads the ACC with 73 catches, 1,027 yards and 13 touchdowns, suffered a high ankle sprain in practice Wednesday and had surgery on Thursday. Without him, No. 1 Miami fell behind No. 4 Notre Dame 24-3 early in the third quarter and lost 31-24 Saturday in South Bend, its first loss of the season.
Missed chances did the rest. Miami had first-and-goal at the 1 in the second quarter and settled for a field goal. Later, trailing 24-17 in Notre Dame territory, Darian Mensah was picked off by safety Luke Talich, and the Irish scored again.
Mensah still finished with 276 yards and three touchdowns. Cooper Barkate (10 catches, two touchdowns) and tight end Elija Lofton (seven catches, 113 yards) carried the passing game.
The Canes (8-1, 6-0 ACC), now No. 5 in the AP poll, host Duke at noon Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.
Volleyball: Aces fuel upset, win streak hits four
Miami volleyball beat a ranked team this week while getting outhit.
The Hurricanes topped No. 23 Stanford 3-2 (22-25, 26-24, 25-20, 22-25, 16-14) on Friday at Freeman Indoor Stadium despite hitting .181 to the Cardinal’s .238. The serve made up the difference. Miami finished with 11 aces, and setter Ariana Rodriguez’s five tied the program record for a five-set match. Facing match point, the Canes closed on a 3-0 run.
Freshman Ruth Martinez had a match-high 21 kills. Rodriguez’s 47 assists pushed her past 3,000 for her career, fifth in program history.
Sunday’s sweep of Cal (25-19, 25-22, 25-17) was far less stressful and stretched the win streak to four. Martinez then won her fifth ACC Freshman of the Week award, tying the program’s single-season record, and Rodriguez was named ACC Setter of the Week.
At 13-10 and 11-3 in the ACC, Miami plays its next five on the road, starting Friday at Syracuse.
Men’s basketball: Two blowouts, one shooting problem
After opening with a loss to Florida, Miami men’s basketball took care of business at home.
The Hurricanes beat Wagner 83-57 on Friday in their home opener at the Watsco Center, then rolled past North Florida 89-51 on Monday. Both wins came inside.
Against Wagner, the Canes outscored the Seahawks 52-22 in the paint and 24-3 on fast breaks. Shelton Henderson scored 16 of his 19 points after halftime, and Malik Reneau added 12 after a five-point night against the Gators.
Reneau led the way again against UNF with 16 points, and Henderson chipped in 14 as Miami won the paint 64-26 and outrebounded the Ospreys 62-34.
The outside shot is still a problem. Miami went 5-for-27 from three against the Ospreys, and Acaden Lewis, who scored 24 against Florida, shot 1-for-8 despite handing out eight assists.
Now 2-1 and No. 17 in the AP poll, Miami hosts North Alabama at 5 p.m. Friday before heading to Las Vegas for the Players Era tournament during “Feast Week.”
Women’s basketball: Raviv runs the show in 3-0 start
Three games in, nobody has come close to Miami women’s basketball, and Gal Raviv is a big reason why.
The junior had 17 points and tied her career high with nine assists in Thursday’s 79-63 win over Jacksonville at the Watsco Center. The Hurricanes’ defense set the tone early, holding the Dolphins to 16 first-half points.
Sunday against Stetson was even more lopsided. Raviv scored 19 on 8-of-12 shooting, and Miami held the Hatters to four points in the second quarter on the way to a 31-12 halftime lead and a 79-39 win. Stetson turned it over 23 times, and the Canes turned those into 21 points.
At 3-0, Miami is allowing just 50 points per game with an average margin of victory of more than 27 points. St. Peter’s visits the Watsco Center at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Soccer: Outshot 26-2, Canes left out of ACC tournament
The final was 1-0, but Thursday’s regular-season finale wasn’t that close.
No. 6 Notre Dame beat Miami 1-0 at Alumni Stadium, outshooting the Hurricanes 26-2. The Irish had 14 shots on goal to Miami’s zero and eight corner kicks to none.
Grace Restovich’s 57th-minute goal was the only one to get past Atlee Olofson, a former Notre Dame keeper who made 11 saves against her old team. The win clinched the Irish the outright ACC regular-season title.
The Canes played without Maddie Sadusky, tied for the team lead in goals, after her red card against Florida State.
Miami finished the regular season 10-5-3 and 4-4-2 in the ACC and missed the six-team ACC tournament field. The Hurricanes now wait on the NCAA Tournament field, announced Nov. 16, to find out whether their season continues.
Coming up
- Nov. 12: Women’s basketball vs. St. Peter’s, 7 p.m., Watsco Center
- Nov. 13: Men’s basketball vs. North Alabama, 5 p.m., Watsco Center
- Nov. 13: Volleyball at Syracuse
- Nov. 13: Cross country at the NCAA South Region Championships in Tallahassee
- Nov. 14: Football vs. Duke, noon, Hard Rock Stadium
- Nov. 15: Volleyball at Boston College
- Nov. 16: NCAA soccer tournament field announced
