Central Michigan University Athletics
Volleyball Wraps Up Regular Season
11/13/2000 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 13, 2000
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MOUNT PLEASANT-- Only one weekend remains in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular season and the Central Michigan University Chippewas (14-14, 8-8 Mid-American) are looking to end on a positive note.
But, this week has a lot more implications than that.
In addition to playing for MAC tournament seeding, the Chippewas are flirting with a winning record as they currently sit at .500 in both overall competition and MAC action. The Central Michigan volleyball program hasn't had a winning season in the past three years.
"There's a lot of pride involved in our last two matches," third-year coach Elaine Piha said. "There is a big difference between 16-14 and 14-16.
"We also want to head into the MAC tournament on a positive note and with some momentum. We know we can accomplish that if we carry out our game plans."
All eight MAC tournament spots have been filled for the postseason action that begins on Tuesday, Nov. 21, at campus sites.
The Chippewas are looking to snap a four-match losing streak with the home finale against Northern Illinois (22-7, 11-5 Mid-American) on Friday, Nov. 17, in Rose Arena at 7 p.m.
The regular season finale is Saturday, Nov. 18, at Toledo.
"Northern Illinois is one of the MAC's top teams but the Huskies are coming into our gym and it's senior night," Piha said. "It should be another exciting match for our fans.
"We close out the season by getting a rematch with Toledo after it took one from us on the home court. Hopefully, it will be a different story with Jennifer Mitchell (Lake Odessa/Sr.) back in the lineup after she missed the earlier match with an ankle injury."
If the Chippewas are to pull out a pair of wins they will have to get back on track.
CMU dropped a pair of three-game sets to the MAC co-leaders Ball State and Western Michigan last weekend in Rose Arena.
BSU defeated Central on Friday by scores of 15-3, 15-2 and 15-12.
No CMU player posted a double figure kill total as Mitchell and Kristin Tack (Saginaw/Jr.) led the way with nine each. Suzanne Smith (Kalamazoo/So.) had a team-high nine digs and three block assists. Sophomore Leslie Schroeder (McComb, Ohio) had five block assists off the bench.
The Chippewas hit a woeful .070 in the match with negative attack percentages in the first two games.
"It was an off night for us," Piha said. "We just never got in a groove. We tried to make adjustments for some people who weren't on the floor but we couldn't put anything together."
Central Michigan put up a better fight on Saturday against its rival Western Michigan.
The Broncos took the match, though, 15-13, 15-6 and 15-11.
Game one was a tight one and CMU actually led late in game three but the Chippewas were not able to capitalize on opportunities.
"We played hard and with heart but Western is just an athletic team that played consistent volleyball," Piha said. "We didn't have the power to keep up with them and we didn't take advantage of the easy plays."
Jenny Young (Plymouth/So.) led the attack with 13 kills and a pair of block assists. Mitchell and Tack each posted 12 kills in the loss. Mitchell had a double-double with 10 digs and three block assists. Jessica Rocho (Honolulu, Hawaii/Sr.) tallied 42 assists and a match-high 14 digs.
Statistically, the match was close in every category except for blocks where the Broncos held a 11-4.5 edge.
HEAD COACH ELAINE PIHA: CMU head coach Elaine Piha is in her third season as head coach. Piha was a CMU assistant for two seasons before assuming the head job on an interim basis for the 1998 season. Piha is joined by first-year assistant Kathy Jewell and second-year graduate assistant Sara Plinska. Piha sports a 31-52 career coaching record.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS:
Northern Illinois is looking to secure a home court site for the first round of the MAC tournament. The Huskies are 22-7 overall and 11-5 in the MAC.
Tenisha Wilkins ranks fifth in the MAC with her 3.95 kills per game average. She also adds 3.06 digs per game. Jen VonderHaar tallies 3.63 kills and 0.93 blocks per game.
NIU has won three of its last four with the loss coming in five games to Eastern Michigan last weekend.
Todd Kress is in his second season as the Huskies' head coach.
Toledo enters the week on a seven-match losing streak. The Rockets' last win was a 3-1 decision against CMU back on Oct. 21.
Bitsy Mayhle leads the offensive attack with 3.36 kills and 3.05 digs per game. Becky Radomski averages 3.31 kills and 2.57 digs per game.
The Rockets were able to take a game from Western Michigan last weekend before falling 3-1.
Kent Miller is in his fourth year as head coach at UT.
MAC LEADERS: Jessica Rocho ranks fourth in the MAC in digs (3.27), seventh in assists (10.68) and 14th in service aces (0.31). Jennifer Mitchell ranks eighth in hitting percentage (.292), 10th in kills (3.44) and 12th in blocks (0.97). Jenny Young is sixth in kills (3.92). As a team, CMU is third in service aces (1.62), seventh in hitting percentage (.200) and assists (13.40), eighth in digs (15.74) and ninth in kills (14.72) and blocks (2.05).
ELITE COMPANY: Senior Jennifer Mitchell is three digs away from becoming only the second player in CMU history to record 1,000 career kills, 800 career digs and 350 career blocks. Her current totals are 1,086 kills, 797 digs and 358 blocks. Mitchell moved up a spot on the career kills charts last week to No. 7. She needs 10 more kills to surpass Wendy Fast (1992-95) for the sixth position. Speaking of Fast, she is the only other player to accomplish the feat. Fast recorded 1,095 kills, 1,013 digs and 467 blocks in her career.
RECORD WATCH: Two CMU players could possibly add their names to the CMU season record list this season. Jenny Young needs 38 kills to move into the top five list for a season and she could also reach the total attacks list as well. Jessica Rocho needs 42 digs to join the top five season performers.
ROCK STEADY: Setter Jessica Rocho needs 57 assists to become CMU's No. 2 career assist leader. Rocho didn't just dish it out last weekend, she also recorded eight kills on the weekend, six of them versus Western Michigan. She also had a double-double versus the Broncos with 42 assists and 14 digs.
STREAK ENDS: Sophomore Jenny Young ranks sixth in the MAC in kills at 3.92 per game. A touch of the flu helped end the outside hitter's streak of 17 straight double figure kill games against Ball State. She was held to only five kills versus the Cardinals while committing 14 errors. Young bounced back on Saturday to lead the Chippewas with 13 kills.
STEADY SMITH: Sophomore Suzanne Smith was a steady force for the Chippewas this past weekend. She had five kills, a team-high nine digs and three block assists against Ball State. Smith got the starting nod against Western Michigan and she responded with seven kills, six digs, a career-high four aces and two block assists.
STEPPING IN: Leslie Schroeder also earned a starting job for last Saturday's match after contributing on Friday. The sophomore had five block assists off the bench versus Ball State. She posted two kills, seven digs and a block assist as a starter against WMU.
HUNTER SIDELINED: Freshman Mollie Hunter (Trenton) was sidelined because of health reasons last weekend. She saw limited action at the beginning of the BSU match and did not dress against Western Michigan.
KRISTIN CHIPS IN: Kristin Tack posted 21 kills on the weekend to raise her season total to 299. The junior recorded 256 kills all of last season. Tack is averaging 3.05 kills, 0.98 digs and 0.16 blocks as a front row player.
MAC TOURNAMENT PICTURE: The eight-team field for the MAC tournament has been set. The first round is held on Tuesday, Nov. 21, at the campus sites of the top four seeds. The semifinals and finals are held at the site of the top remaining seed. The final four will meet on Nov. 24-25 or 25-26. Heading into the final week, here's the playoff picture: 1. BSU (15-1) - .938, 2. WMU (15-1) - .938, 3. NIU (11-5) - .688, 4. BGSU (11-6) - .647, 5. Ohio (11-6) - .647, 6. KSU (9-7) - .563, 7. Akron (9-7) - .563, 8. CMU (8-8) - .500
ON THE TUBE: CMU's home finale against Northern Illinois is the final game that student television station MHTV, Channel 34 will air on a tape delay basis. The station also aired four other matches this season.
UP NEXT: The Chippewas head to the MAC tournament next week. CMU has a first-round date at a campus site on Tuesday, Nov. 21. The semifinal and finals will be either Nov. 24-25 or Nov. 25-26 depending on the host school.
| MAC Standings | ||
| West Division | ||
| Team | MAC | Overall |
| 1. Ball State | 15-1 | 22-4 |
| 2. Western Michigan | 15-1 | 20-5 |
| 3. Northern Illinois | 11-5 | 22-6 |
| 4. Central Michigan | 8-8 | 14-14 |
| 5. Eastern Michigan | 5-12 | 6-22 |
| 6. Toledo | 4-12 | 7-19 |
| East Division | ||
| 1. Bowling Green | 11-6 | 19-8 |
| 2. Ohio | 11-6 | 18-10 |
| 3. Akron | 9-7 | 14-13 |
| 4. Kent State | 9-7 | 12-14 |
| 5. Miami | 6-10 | 10-17 |
| 6. Marshall | 2-14 | 4-25 |
| 7. Buffalo | 0-17 | 4-26 |
