Central Michigan University Athletics
Volleyball Has Busy Week With Three Matches
11/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 1, 2004
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MOUNT PLEASANT -- Only three matches remain on the Mid-American Conference schedule for the Central Michigan University volleyball team (6-18, 3-10 Mid-American). Two of them come this week, along with a nonconference home date against Oakland.
The week starts with the nonleague clash against in-state foe Oakland University (5-19, 3-8 Mid-Continent) on Tuesday, Nov. 2. First serve in Rose Arena is set for 7 p.m.
Oakland posted a 3-2 win earlier this season in Rochester, marking OU's first win in the series after 18 straight Chippewa victories.
CMU then hits the road for MAC West Division foes Northern Illinois (9-17, 4-7 Mid-American) and Western Michigan (13-10, 7-5 Mid-American) on the weekend.
The Chippewas are in DeKalb, Ill., on Friday, Nov. 5, to take on the Huskies at 7 p.m. CST. It marks the only meeting between the division rivals this season.
CMU then heads to Western Michigan to battle the Broncos in Kalamazoo on Saturday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. The Chippewas actually close out the MAC season by hosting WMU in what ends up being a back-to-back, home-and-home series the following Friday, Nov. 12. The regular season comes to a close the next day with a nonconference match against Valparaiso on Nov. 13.
All 13 MAC teams qualify for the MAC Tournament with the top three seeds getting byes to the quarterfinals. Seeds four through eight will host nine through 13 in first round games at campus sites on Tuesday, Nov. 16, and the quarterfinals through finals will be held at Bowling Green, Nov. 19-21. The MAC has gone to a new format this season with a predetermined championship site. In the past, the top seed hosted the tournament. The host school will rotate alphabetically.
With just two weeks remaining, much of the seeding scenarios are still up in the air. Ohio at 12-0 has clinched at least a share of the East Division championship but Ball State and Eastern Michigan are right behind in the overall race with just one and two losses, respectively. Six of the MAC teams have between three and five wins and those teams are all fighting to possibly host a first-round game.
The Maroon and Gold went 0-2 last week on the road. CMU dropped a 3-1 decision at Marshall last Friday -- 30-25, 26-30, 30-13 and 30-28. The Chippewas managed 13 teams blocks in the match but the Thundering Herd's offense was too much as freshman Kelly-Anne Billingy pounded out 30 kills on .396 hitting. Marshall hit .211 compared to CMU's .110 as Emily Lovejoy led the Chippewas with 18 kills. Jesse Miller and Melanie Klein each had seven total blocks while Meghan Moore added six.
CMU then headed over to Miami where the Chippewa offense sputtered to a .047 attack percentage in a 3-0 loss. Game scores were 30-25, 30-21, 30-24. Moore and Klein posted 10 kills and three total blocks each, and both hit over .300. Four Chippewas had negative attack percentages.
A Look at the Opponents
Oakland Golden Grizzlies
Oakland is 5-19 this season, 3-8 in the Mid-Continent Conference. After losing nine straight, OU is 2-2 in its last four. Heather Lippert is averaging 2.59 kills and 1.13 blocks per game while Sara Miller adds 2.44 kills and 1.56 digs per game.
Northern Illinois Huskies
NIU is 9-17 overall, 4-7 in the MAC. The Huskies had just one match last weekend, a 3-1 win over Toledo. Northern hosts MAC-leading Ohio on Wednesday before welcoming the Chippewas on Friday. Senior three-time All-MAC honoree Tera Lobdell has recorded the most kills of any MAC player this season at 553. She ranks second in average with 5.59 per game and she's also 13th in digs with 3.54 per game. Kate McCullagh is fifth in the MAC with 1.23 blocks per game. As a team, NIU ranks third in the MAC in digs with 18.28 per game.
Western Michigan Broncos
Western Michigan is 13-10 overall and 7-5 in the MAC. The Broncos had a three-match winning streak snapped with a road loss at MAC-leading Ohio last Saturday. WMU hosts Ball State on Friday before facing the Chippewas. Shaylen Jackson leads the MAC in hitting percentage at .357 and ranks fourth in blocks with 1.26 per game while averaging 2.72 kills per game. Ashley Schatzle sports a team-high 3.24 kills per game average. WMU ranks third in the MAC in hitting percentage and blocks.
Three-Game Streak Ends: The Chippewas' match with Marshall last Friday went four games, ending CMU's streak of nine straight three-game matches. However, a new streak started on Saturday when the Maroon and Gold's contest at Miami went the minimum three sets. For the season, the Chippewas have played 14 three-game matches and they are 4-10 in those contests.
Huskie Ties: There may be some mixed emotions this week in head coach Erik Olson's house. His wife, Becky (Stewart), was a four-year letterwinner at Northern Illinois, earning first team All-Midwestern Collegiate Conference honors in 1996 and first team All-MAC and AVCA all-district honors in 1997. She ranks in several categories of the NIU record book.
Offensive Woes: CMU's offense had a pair of rough outings last week and the Chippewas hit a combined .079 in the two matches with 81 kills and 61 errors in 254 attempts. The previous week CMU had a .221 attack mark. For the season, the Chippewas are hitting .170 to rank 12th in the MAC.
Lovejoy's Streak Ends: Emily Lovejoy had her string of five straight double-doubles come to an end when she posted 18 kills and nine digs at Marshall on Friday. She was one double-double shy of tying her career best streak. Then on Saturday, Lovejoy, CMU's career kills record holder, was held to a career-low tying three kills against Miami.
Top Guns: Friday's match at NIU will feature two of the most prolific kill producers in Mid-American Conference history, CMU's Emily Lovejoy and NIU's Tera Lobdell. The MAC record holder for career kills is currently former Ball State Cardinal Megan Hammons (1998-01) with 1,827. Both current players have a chance at breaking the old record as Lobdell ranks second in MAC history with 1,747 kills and Lovejoy third with 1,713. Former Bowling Green Falcon Tammy Schiller (1988-91) ranks fourth with 1,709.
Miller Stands Tall: Redshirt freshman Jesse Miller tied a season-high with seven blocks at Marshall. She also tallied six kills in each of CMU's two matches last week. The right side hitter is third on the team averaging 0.77 blocks per game and in MAC games it climbs to 0.93 per game.
Road Block: Melanie Klein had seven blocks against Marshall, tying her career high that she has set three times this season. The following night against Miami, Klein tallied 10 kills for her second double-figure outing of the season.
Quick Volleys: Emily Lovejoy played in just two of the three games against Miami, marking the first game she's missed all year ... Meghan Moore and Melanie Klein are the only two Chippewas to play in every one of CMU's games this season (86) ... the Chippewas .047 attack percentage against Miami was its second lowest this season behind a .022 mark against Ohio ... CMU has played just six four-game matches this season and the Chippewas are 0-6 in those contests ... CMU is 2-2 in five-game matches.
