Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewa Spikers Head to Wisconsin
9/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 13, 2005
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MOUNT PLEASANT -- Cheeseheads and Packers' green and yellow will be the preferred dress for the Central Michigan University volleyball team this weekend as it heads to Green Bay, Wis. to take part in the Wisconsin-Green Bay AmeriHost Classic.
The Chippewas open the weekend with Western Illinois on Friday at 5 p.m. CDT. CMU battles Wisconsin-Green Bay (1 p.m. CDT) and North Dakota State (5 p.m. CDT) on Saturday.
The Maroon and Gold look to get back on track after going 0-3 at the Comcast Lady Vol Classic in Knoxville, Tenn. last weekend. CMU lost to the College of Charleston, 3-0, 16th-ranked Tennessee, 3-0, and Baylor, 3-1.
"We faced three solid teams last weekend and were not consistent enough to come away with a victory," head coach Erik Olson said. "We showed signs during each match that we are able to compete at that level, but we did not sustain that level of play the whole match. We need to be more disciplined in our play."
Consistency and aggressiveness are the main focus during practice this week as the team prepares for this weekend.
"Our training regimen this week is a lot tougher so our players understand what it takes to be successful," Olson said. "We need to hold our players to a higher standard in terms of their play and let them know when they are not meeting that standard. We need to have more consistent passing and aggressive attacking.
"Our practices so far have been more focused on teaching technique, but after this weekend, I see the important thing is to work on is the mental part of our play. I saw great improvement in Monday's practice, which was one of the toughest of the year. We need to build on that the rest of this week so we are ready to go this weekend."
This weekend will also be a homecoming for a trio of Chippewas as head coach Erik Olson, volunteer assistant coach Becky Olson and freshman middle blocker Whitney Evers all hail from Wisconsin. Erik Olson grew up in the Milwaukee area and graduated from Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he played volleyball from 1991-95. Becky Olson is originally from Greendale, Wis. and Evers grew up in Little Chute, Wis.
"I know we will have a lot of support at the tournament this weekend," Olson said. "My focus and the team's focus all weekend will be winning our matches, but it is always nice to have support when we go on the road. Hopefully, they are loud and help us get some big wins."
A Look at the Opponents
Western Illinois Leathernecks
The Leathernecks are 2-5 overall heading into a Tuesday night match at DePaul. Western Illinois lost 3-1 last Friday to Division I independent IPFW. Mo Houston had 13 kills and 17 digs, and setter Sarah Trimpe had 42 kills and 12 digs for the Leathernecks in that loss. Western Illinois was strong on the block against Murray State last weekend when Jenna Yurs had a school-record 17 block assists and the Leathernecks broke a team record with 38 block assists. Head coach Kym McKay is 25-70 in her fourth season at Western Illinois.
Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix
The Phoenix is 4-5 overall after a 2-2 showing in the NDSU Doublewood Inn Classic last weekend. Wisconsin-Green Bay defeated the Bison 3-1 and Sam Houston State 3-0. All-tournament selection Jackie Rosen leads the Phoenix with 4.80 kills and 2.87 digs per game. She had 20 kills and 13 digs in UWGB's win over the Bison. Head coach Debbie Kirch is 85-172 in her ninth season.
North Dakota State Bison
The Bison enter this weekend looking for their first victory of the season as the squad is 0-10 going into the tournament. NDSU lost to Wisconsin-Green Bay in its last match, 3-1. Kim Hebl leads the Bison offense with 2.86 kills per game and Kari Fagnan is the defensive leader with 3.39 digs per game. The Bison have faced some top-notch competition this season, losing to No. 6-ranked Minnesota and No. 2-ranked Washington. Head coach Zaundra Bina is 252-98 in her 11th season at NDSU.
SERIES HISTORY: CMU leads the all-time series with Western Illinois, 4-2. The last meeting between the two teams came in 1996 when WIU came away with the victory, 3-2 (15-10, 15-4, 7-15, 9-15, 15-12). CMU and Wisconsin-Green Bay met in last season's opening match with the Chippewas winning, 3-0 (30-28, 30-22, 30-27). That victory was Erik Olson's first win as CMU's head coach.The Chippewas have never faced North Dakota State.
FRESHMAN FISSEL: True freshman Kate Fissel has led the CMU offense this season with an average of 2.95 kills per game. She has tallied double-digit kills in three of the six matches and recorded her first double-double with 17 kills and 16 digs in CMU's first meeting with Oakland. She is also second on the squad in blocks with 0.90 per game and fifth in digs with 1.76 per game.
McCRITE CLIMBS MAC DIGS LADDER: Senior Ali McCrite entered the season as CMU's career leader in digs, and currently sits eighth on the Mid-American Conference career list with 1,577. She overtook Ohio's Branda Bailey for eighth over the weekend and needs 11 more digs to move into seventh, which currently belongs to Toledo's Janet Stange.
MAC Career Digs Top 10
Player(School) Digs Years
1. Stephanie Keller (Ball State) 2,273 2001-04
2. Jennifer Nighswander (EMU) 1,897 2000-03
3. Julie McDivitt (Akron) 1,814 1997-2000
4. Lori Snider (Akron) 1,717 2001-04
5. Sandy Lewis (Akron) 1,559 2000-03
6. Susie Norris (Bowling Green) 1,596 2000-03
7. Janet Stange (Toledo) 1,588 1983-86
8. Ali McCrite (CMU) 1,577 2002-
9. Brenda Bailey (Ohio) 1,526 1989-92
10. Jennifer Borton (Akron) 1,469 1992-95
STRENGTH IN THE MIDDLE: Two of CMU's most consistent and aggressive players have been its middle blockers, freshman Whitney Evers and junior Alison Baker. Evers is CMU's top blocker with 1.16 per game, is second in hitting percentage with a mark of .238 and third in kills per game with 2.16. In the victory over Oakland, she hit .579 with 12 kills and one error in 19 attempts. Baker came on strong over the weekend and led the Chippewas with 25 kills during the Lady Vol Classic. She is third in hitting percentage (.231), fourth in kills (1.95 pg) and fourth in blocks (0.62).
MAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Ball State middle attacker Rachel Refenes was named Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week on Monday while Miami middle hitter Carli Reihman was the East Division selection.
MAC UPDATE: Two-time defending MAC Champion Ohio continues to roll with an 8-1 record, tops in the East Division. The Bobcats received 38 votes in the latest AVCA/CSTV Coaches poll. Eastern Michigan holds the top record in the West Division with a mark of 5-1.
NEXT UP: CMU returns home to host Xavier next Tuesday in Rose Arena at 7 p.m. The Chippewas then kick off the MAC season next weekend with a pair of road matches. CMU battles Western Michigan on Friday, Sept. 23, and Northern Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 24.
Chippewas in the MAC Rankings: Individual
Assists Kersten 10th 10.14
Digs McCrite 7th 4.52
Blocks Evers 7th 1.16
Team
Att. % 12th .138
Opp. % 7th .181
Assists 12th 11.62
Kills 13th 12.81
Blocks 7th 2.24
Aces 11th 1.43
Digs 13th 13.90
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