Central Michigan University
Northern Illinois
Volleyball Drops Five-Game Heartbreaker to NIU
10/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 8, 2005
MOUNT PLEASANT - A possible first conference victory turned into another heartbreaker for the Central Michigan University volleyball team as it lost a five-game affair to Northern Illinois at home on Friday evening, 3-2 (21-30, 30-27, 30-28, 25-30, 15-12).
CMU falls to 3-12 on the year, 0-5 in the Mid-American Conference while NIU ups its record to 10-9, 3-2 in MAC play.
The Chippewas played one of their best matches of the season and had chances to win in the match, especially in game five when they were up 9-6, but were unable to perform in pressure situations.
"I thought we played pretty well night and I was happy with how we fought, but we are still looking for the person who will step up in pressure situations and get it done for us," head coach Erik Olson said. "It was all there for us tonight; we just got tight in pressure situations and didn't perform. Hopefully, we continue to learn and grow so that we are able to be successful in these types of situations."
Kristin Wiloch had a breakout performance after moving from a middle blocker to an outside hitter for the match. She came though with a career-high 23 kills which ties CMU's individual season high for this year. Her previous career-high was nine against North Dakota State.
"Kristen did a great job for us and I am happy to see her succeed because of all the work she has put in," Olson said. "She had a great week of practice and came out tonight and did a lot of great things for us. Kristen does so many of the intangibles, the small things, which we need to be successful."
Courtney Kersten also had a strong outing with a career-high 20 digs to go along with 59 assists. Ali McCrite had a match-high 27 digs while Sarah Warner recorded a double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs. Also tallying double-digit kills were Alison Baker (13) and Whitney Evers (10). Baker also hit a match-high .345 and Evers had a team-high eight total blocks.
Corinne Walsh led NIU with 22 kills while Kate McCullagh added 19 more for the Huskies. Jenny Dziubla dished out 65 assists and Gina Guide had 20 digs.
In the team stats, CMU tallied more digs (86-83), blocks (13.5-12) and points (93.5-93) while outhitting NIU, .205-.186, though the Huskies did record six more kills, 79-73.
CMU came out of the gate strong in game one as it hit .405 in the frame to go up 1-0 in the match. The Chippewas used a 6-0 run midway though the game to give them an 18-13 lead and they never looked back from there.
Game two was a close affair with seven ties and five lead changes. The turning point in the frame came with the score was tied at 22. NIU went on a 5-1 run at that point and never looked back. The Huskies outhit CMU in the game, .178-.083.
Game three saw 13 ties and three lead changes as again a late NIU run gave it the victory. The score was tied a 25-25 in the frame when the Huskies went on a 4-1 run to secure the game. Both teams hit about the same in the frame with CMU edging Northern Illinois out, .289-.288.
The Chippewas took control of game four early with a 5-0 run to start the frame. CMU pushed its lead to 25-16 before having to hold off a late Northern Illinois charge to send the match to game five. CMU outhit NIU in the game, .106-.045.
Game five was decided by a 6-1 NIU run after the Chippewas had gone up 9-6. CMU did get back within one at 13-12, but NIU scored the final two points to earn the victory. The Huskies tallied 11 kills in the game while outhitting CMU, .259-.130.
The Chippewas return to action tomorrow night when they host Western Michigan beginning at 7 p.m.
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