Central Michigan University Athletics
Gold Edges Maroon in Volleyball Intrasquad Scrimmage, 3-2
8/26/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 26, 2004
MOUNT PLEASANT - First-year head volleyball coach Erik Olson got the first good look at his 2004 Central Michigan University squad on Thursday afternoon during an intrasquad scrimmage in Rose Arena.
The Gold team, led by the All-MAC duo of Meghan Moore and Emily Lovejoy, posted a five-game victory over the Maroon. Game scores were 24-30, 30-23, 30-20, 29-31 and 15-8.
"We put together a scrimmage that we felt had evenly matched teams and that's the way it played out in five games," Olson said. "I thought the level of enthusiasm was excellent and the defensive intensity was great throughout the match.
"There were nice performances from the middles on both squad, Moore and (Melanie) Klein, and Lovejoy looked good on both the right and left sides."
Moore posted a match-high 24 kills while hitting .236 and tacking on eight block assists. Lovejoy was right behind with her teammate Moore with 23 kills.
Redshirt freshman Courtney Kersten set the Gold squad to the victory with 52 assists. Mary Ochmanek, who has converted to the front row this season, had nine kills and 17 digs for the Gold.
Sophomore Aislinn Hayes led the Maroon with 18 kills, 10 digs and six block assists.
"Hayes, when she's aggressive, is looking awesome," Olson said.
Junior Jaimeson Whitman had 45 assists while Melanie Klein had eight kills and four blocks. Leading the Maroon defense was junior transfer Jillian Bouchey with a team-high 14 digs as the libero.
"We've got ourselves a real battle for the libero position between Bouchey and (Ali) McCrite," Olson said. "Each of them led their team in digs today and that was great to see."
The victorious Gold squad hit .175 for the match compared to the .127 mark turned in by the Maroon. However, the Maroon held an 11-8 edge in the blocking department.
The Chippewas open the regular season next weekend by hosting the Super 8 Invitational on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 3-4. CMU hosts Wisconsin-Green Bay, Indiana State and IUPUI in the round-robin affair. The Chippewas play Wisconsin-Green Bay on Friday at 7 p.m., before hosting Indiana State on Saturday at 12:30 p.m., and then IUPUI later that evening at 7 p.m.
"We've got to do a better job serve receiving and passing before next week," Olson said. "We also have to learn to continue to be aggressive all the time and whittle down our errors. If we practice aggressively on a daily basis, we will get used to it."
