In February, I wrote a column stating that at the time, the Battle of the Bricks rivalry between Ohio and Miami was dead because the RedHawks were just terrible across the board.
That held true until Friday.
I was one of those that stood in stunned silence in The Convo that night as the Miami volleyball team celebrated its upset victory against the heavily-favored Bobcats. The win snapped Ohio's impressive run of 64 consecutive Mid-American Conference wins, as well as its 47-match home winning streak.
There's nothing like ending your rival's amazing streaks to fuel the fire once again.
Granted, the RedHawks aren't Ohio's top rival in volleyball ' that distinction belongs to Bowling Green, which was coincidentally dispatched in three games by a seemingly more determined Bobcat squad the night following the upset. But at the end of the day, Miami beat Ohio in something other than the number of students who proudly adorn polo shirts with popped collars.
And that should make some Ohio fans mad.
Stephanie Blackburn watched as four of her high school teammates who currently play for the RedHawks hugged one another after the Miami win that ended one of the most impressive feats any Ohio sport has ever registered ' in Blackburn's senior year.
I'd be willing to guess that Blackburn will be looking for the last word in her personal rivalry with Miami when the two teams reconvene in Oxford Nov. 3. Considering the possible stakes ' both teams are 3-1 in conference play ' that meeting may be for a lot more than just bragging rights.
So bust out those Muck Fiami shirts once again, Ohio fans. The RedHawks have finally poked their heads out of the sand and are looking for a fight.
Although the volleyball's streaks are dead, the Ohio/Miami rivalry is reborn, and both schools will be better because of it.
At least until Ohio makes it a one-sided rivalry again.
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Jason Fazzone
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