Central Michigan University Athletics
Volleyball Kicks Off 2005 Campaign
8/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 25, 2005
After three weeks of battling each other, the Central Michigan University volleyball team faces some different competition this weekend with a pair of matches on Saturday, Aug. 27, at a tournament hosted by Western Michigan.
The Chippewas opens the season against Valparaiso at 9 a.m. and face off against Oakland at 5 p.m. Both matches take place at University Arena in Kalamazoo.
Second-year head coach Erik Olson is excited for the weekend after putting his squad through preseason drills the past three weeks.
"It will be interesting to see where we are at this weekend since this is our first action against a real opponent," Olson said. "We have been competitive in practice, so it will be interesting to see if we can translate that into play on the court. One of our goals every time we get on the floor is to be better then we were before, and this weekend will be a key part of that."
With nine newcomers on this year's team, Olson knows that the squad's comfort level on the court will be key if the team is going to be successful.
"The sooner we get comfortable on the court, the sooner we are able to play our brand of volleyball," Olson said. "This will be a new experience for a lot of the players as it is the first time many of them put on the CMU uniform and step out on the court for a match at this level. I know we have players who can handle the pressure, it is just a matter of how quickly they get acclimated to the game."
Olson has a set of simple but important goals for this squad. "We need to play clean, aggressive volleyball if we want to be successful," Olson said. "We have worked hard this week to eliminate errors and that needs to continue this weekend. We need to have solid movement on the court along with having good communication between the players."
A Glance at Valparaiso - The Crusaders return all six starters from last year's team that won both the Mid-Continent Conference regular season and tournament crown, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Valpo did lose libero Sara Silcox, who is now an assistant coach for CMU. The all-time series between the two is tied at two wins apiece after the Crusaders took last year's meeting, 3-0 (30-24, 30-22, 30-22).
"Based off of last year's team, I know that Valparaiso is a very consistent and patient squad who will make us work hard for our points," Olson said. "It is critical we capitalize on our opportunities and limit our errors. It will be a good test for us right off the bat."
A Glance at Oakland - The Grizzles are one of the up and coming squads in the Mid-Continent Conference and return four starters from last season. Oakland went 5-24 last year and finished seventh in the conference with a 3-13 record. CMU split its two matches with OU last year, falling in the first meeting, 3-2 (29-31, 18-30, 30-26, 30-26, 15-10), before taking a home match late in the year, 3-0 (30-17, 30-23, 30-24). CMU leads the all-time series, 19-1.
"Oakland will be a much better team than it was last year, so it is important we play clean, aggressive volleyball against the Grizzles," Olson said. "We must not overlook OU."
Co-Captains - Senior Ali McCrite and Sophomore Courtney Kersten have been named the team's captains this season. McCrite is a three-year starter for CMU at the libero position and is CMU's career digs leader. Kersten is a setter who split time last season and enters the fall as CMU's starter at that spot.
"Our captains are so important every day of the year because they are an extension of the coaching staff," head coach Erik Olson said. "They are our coaches on the floor and do a great job of helping everyone around them become better players. Ali and Courtney are great competitors and have been solid leaders for us."
McCrite Climbs Up MAC Career Digs List - Senior Ali McCrite enters the season already CMU's career leader in digs and sits ninth on the Mid-American Conference career list with 1,482. McCrite needs 45 more digs to overtake eighth, which currently belongs to Ohio's Brenda Bailey. The senior does have a ways to go to catch the MAC career lead, Ball State's Stephanie Keller. Keller finished her career with 2,273 digs; meaning McCrite would need 791 digs this year to catch her.
MAC Preseason Poll - CMU was predicted to finish fifth in the Mid-American Conference West Division by the coaches preseason poll. Defending conference champion Ohio was selected by the coaches to win the East Division and its third-straight tournament crown. Ball State was picked to repeat as the West champion. Rounding out the rest of the West Division standings was Eastern Michigan (second), Western Michigan (third), Northern Illinois (fourth) and Toledo (sixth).
