Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Tame Huskies in MAC Tournament Quarterfinals
11/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
TOLEDO, Ohio -- Lauren Krupsky's 18 kills led a Central Michigan volleyball offense that fired on all cylinders in a 3-0 sweep of Northern Illinois in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at the Seagate Centre on Friday.
The Chippewas hit .355 as a squad and were led by their two All-MAC selections. Krupsky, a first-team pick, finished with a match-high 18 kills and hit .324, and Kaitlyn Schultz hit a match-high .500 and finished with nine kills.
"We really showed up today," head coach Erik Olson said. "We've had some trouble with morning matches, but our team competed their hearts out today and we came up with one of our best performances of the year."
The offense came from all directions, as CMU benefited from nine more kills from Val DeWeerd, eight from Lindsey Dulude and six from Kaitlyn Hurt. None of the Chippewa attackers finished with a hitting percentage less than .320.
CMU's defense was also sharp, getting 13 digs from both Alexis Lonneman and Dulude, and 10 more from Lisa Johnson. The Chippewas piled up eight blocks as a team, led by Hurt's six and DeWeerd's three.
"Val is someone who was slowed up twice by injuries this season," Olson said. "She's really got it going lately though. She's such a great athlete, she's smart and she's aggressive. She's done a nice job blocking the last few weeks as well."
Setter Stephanie Budde finished with 40 assists and nine digs, and Lonneman paced the Chippewa service attack with two aces.
"Budde distributed the ball amazingly. We had a lot of one on ones, she used the right side for us very well and we did an outstanding job spreading the ball around."
It's the first time Central Michigan has advanced to the MAC Tournament semifinals since 1996. The last time CMU played for a MAC Tournament title came in 1982. The win comes after CMU had lost in the 11 a.m. match each of the last two seasons.
"We changed our routine in the few days leading up to get us ready for today's schedule," Olson said. "We made sure everyone was aware of what they needed to be doing preparation wise hour-by-hour leading up to the match, and it paid off. Our fans were really great today. They came together and it was by far the best atmosphere for us at the tournament in the past few years, and that's a credit to our volleyball family. They really gave us a nice lift."
The fifth-seeded Chippewas (17-11) will face No. 1 Ohio at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Seagate Centre.
The Chippewas hit .355 as a squad and were led by their two All-MAC selections. Krupsky, a first-team pick, finished with a match-high 18 kills and hit .324, and Kaitlyn Schultz hit a match-high .500 and finished with nine kills.
"We really showed up today," head coach Erik Olson said. "We've had some trouble with morning matches, but our team competed their hearts out today and we came up with one of our best performances of the year."
The offense came from all directions, as CMU benefited from nine more kills from Val DeWeerd, eight from Lindsey Dulude and six from Kaitlyn Hurt. None of the Chippewa attackers finished with a hitting percentage less than .320.
CMU's defense was also sharp, getting 13 digs from both Alexis Lonneman and Dulude, and 10 more from Lisa Johnson. The Chippewas piled up eight blocks as a team, led by Hurt's six and DeWeerd's three.
"Val is someone who was slowed up twice by injuries this season," Olson said. "She's really got it going lately though. She's such a great athlete, she's smart and she's aggressive. She's done a nice job blocking the last few weeks as well."
Setter Stephanie Budde finished with 40 assists and nine digs, and Lonneman paced the Chippewa service attack with two aces.
"Budde distributed the ball amazingly. We had a lot of one on ones, she used the right side for us very well and we did an outstanding job spreading the ball around."
It's the first time Central Michigan has advanced to the MAC Tournament semifinals since 1996. The last time CMU played for a MAC Tournament title came in 1982. The win comes after CMU had lost in the 11 a.m. match each of the last two seasons.
"We changed our routine in the few days leading up to get us ready for today's schedule," Olson said. "We made sure everyone was aware of what they needed to be doing preparation wise hour-by-hour leading up to the match, and it paid off. Our fans were really great today. They came together and it was by far the best atmosphere for us at the tournament in the past few years, and that's a credit to our volleyball family. They really gave us a nice lift."
The fifth-seeded Chippewas (17-11) will face No. 1 Ohio at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Seagate Centre.
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