Central Michigan University Athletics
Volleyball Continues Preseason Drills
8/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 22, 2005
The Central Michigan University volleyball team continued preparations for its season opener this weekend with an intrasquad scrimmage on Monday morning.
The team was split into two equal groups, the White squad and Maroon squad. The white team struck first with a 30-23 win in game one but the maroon squad fought back to win game two, 30-28. In the deciding third game, the maroon team was victorious, 30-27.
"I was pretty happy with how the scrimmage went today but we made too many errors," head coach Erik Olson said. "We need to learn how to be more consistent in our play and work to cut down the errors. I think the two squads competed hard today but we need to be even more intense when we get into game situations. Overall I am pleased, but we still have a lot of work to do so we are ready for Saturday."
The team battled a rash of injuries last week, forcing a few of the players to miss practice time, but the team was almost full strength for the scrimmage.
"Whenever you have injuries to potential starters during the preseason, it always puts you back a bit," Olson said. "The good thing is we are back at it hard with almost everyone able to go full strength, so it is just a matter of making up for the training missed. We practiced hard three times on Sunday and I am impressed with the intensity the team showed thoughout each practice."
With nine newcomers in the program, building a solid rapport among the players was a main focus heading into camp, but Olson is impressed with the bond the players have formed with one another.
"Our chemistry is as good as it could possibly be," Olson said. "The players are very tight and it is clear that they care about each other. In the scrimmage, one thing that impressed me was the talk on the court between the players. The chemistry we have built is a big reason for that because the players respect each other and listen to what people have to say."
The squad continues two-a-days this week before heading off to Kalamazoo this weekend for a pair of matches. CMU plays Valparaiso at 9 a.m., and Oakland at 5 p.m., this Saturday at Western Michigan.
