Central Michigan University Athletics
2004 CMU Volleyball Prospectus
7/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
July 6, 2004
Complete 2004 CMU Volleyball Prospectus in PDF Format (Includes quick facts, roster, schedule and 2003 statistics)
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2004 Central Michigan Volleyball Notes
* Central Michigan will be under the direction of first-year head coach Erik Olson. Olson became the fourth head coach in the program's history when he was named to the position on June 2. The 32-year-old spent the last three seasons as the top assistant at the University of Miami and one season as an assistant at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He also has extensive high school and club coaching experience, including working with the USA Volleyball Men's Junior National Team.
* The Chippewas return two honorees from last season's Mid-American Conference West Division championship team. Senior Emily Lovejoy and sophomore Meghan Moore were both named second team All-MAC. In addition, Moore was tabbed the league's "Freshman of the Year." Lovejoy averaged a team-high 3.88 kills per game, along with 2.65 digs and 0.37 blocks last season. Moore was second on the squad with 3.08 kills, 0.62 digs and a team-high 1.26 blocks per game.
* The Chippewas will have to fill a void at setter with the departure of first-team All-MAC pick Shaleene Glombowski. She led the MAC in assists during her senior year with 1,582, seventh-best in MAC history, and her 13.29 assists per game average ranked 16th nationally in 2003. Glombowski holds CMU's career assist record with 4,428.
* Much of CMU's success last season could be attributed to its efficient offensive attack. The Chippewas ranked second in the MAC and 43rd nationally with a .252 hitting percentage. In the MAC standings, the Chippewas trailed just MAC regular season champion Ohio which tallied a .264 hitting percentage. The .252 mark was the second-best in school history behind the inaugural season of 1982 when the Chippewas had a .313 mark. CMU had two individuals in the top three in the conference in hitting percentage in 2003 as Tamara Fant was second in the MAC and 36th nationally with a .364 hitting percentage and Liz Passen sported a .325 mark to rank third in the league.
* The Chippewas won the 2003 MAC West Division title for the first time since the league broke into a divisional format in 1997. CMU hadn't finished better than fourth in the division the previous six seasons. The Chippewas were the MAC regular season runner-up on seven occasions prior to the division change but CMU has never won the MAC title.
* Senior Emily Lovejoy needs just 272 kills to set a new CMU career record. She currently has 1,347 kills and trails Chippewa Hall of Famer Joanne Hoskins who tallied 1,618 from 1980-84 and Wendy Feldman who posted 1,374 from 1995-98. Lovejoy already holds the Chippewa career attempts record at 3,752.
* CMU begins and ends the regular season by hosting two nonconference teams that played in the NCAA Tournament last season - Wisconsin-Green Bay and Valparaiso. The Chippewas welcome Wisconsin-Green Bay on Friday, Sept. 3, as part of the season-opening Super 8 Invitational Tournament. The Phoenix won the Horizon League Tournament last season. CMU hosts Valparaiso in the regular season finale on Nov. 13. Valpo won the Mid-Continent Conference regular season and tournament titles.
* Libero Ali McCrite enters her junior season with 1,059 career digs which ranks fourth on CMU's career chart. She tallied 494 last season for a 4.15 per game average which ranked fifth in the MAC and 49th nationally.
* Meghan Moore became CMU volleyball's first-ever MAC "Freshman of the Year" last season. The rookie ranked fourth in the MAC in blocks (1.26) and 14th in service aces (0.31). Her 149 total blocks ranked fifth best on CMU's season chart.
* The Chippewas took care of business quickly last season going 11-3 in three-game matches. CMU won five straight by a 3-0 margin late in the season.
