Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Edge Eagles in MAC Opener, 3-2
9/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
YPSILANTI, Mich. -- Lauren Krupsky tallied 18 kills and two aces while the Central Michigan volleyball team held Eastern Michigan to a .121 hitting percentage as the Chippewas edged the eagles in five sets, 3-2, on Friday at the Convocation Center.
The Chippewas beat the Eagles for the fourth time in the past five meetings between the in-state rivals, and picked up a victory in their Mid-American Conference opener for the fourth straight season.
"We got some nice production on the outside from both Krupsky and Val DeWeerd, who didn't have a lot of kills but forced Eastern into a lot of tough situations that resulted in points," head coach Erik Olson said. "When we got a good ball to our middles, they usually converted it. Our middles make us go. Our ball control broke down tonight, but it was one of those nights where we just gutted it out. "
After the Chippewas won the first set, 25-18, the scrappy Eagles battled back to take the second set, 25-20, thanks to a .333 hitting percentage.
"We needed to be a little bit more disciplined with our blocking. We did a nice job defensively, but we also didn't do a very good job of terminating the ball," Olson said. "It was a situation where we had a lot of young players in their first MAC match, but we played with a lot of fight and came out with a win."
The Chippewas claimed the third set with the help of five kills and an ace by Krupsky, but the Eagles would answer once again, taking the fourth set, 25-22. EMU actually held a 19-16 lead, before CMU rallied to tie up the frame at 21. But the Eagles tallied back-to-back points to go back up by two and hold on to send the match to the fifth and decisive set.
It was a taste of young and old in the fifth set, as freshman middle blocker Danielle Gotham paced the Chippewas with four kills and senior libero Alexis Lonneman played perhaps her best set of the match, digging out six Eagle attacks. She would finish the match with 26 as the Chippewas claimed victory, 15-10.
Senior middle blocker Kaitlyn Hurt finished with 12 kills and Gotham added 11. Senior setter Stephanie Budde guided the offense with 41 kills.
Lonneman had plenty of help defensively on Friday, as junior Lisa Johnson (19 digs), sophomore Kelsey Detweiler (14) and freshman Lindsey Dulude (10) all finished with double-figure digs. The 19 digs by Johnson were a career-best.
"Lisa played great tonight," Olson said. "She was very disciplined and made some nice plays."
The Chippewas (8-3, 1-0 MAC) have now beaten the Eagles (1-14, 0-1 MAC) three straight trips to Ypsilanti.
CMU's offense had a difficult time against the stingy EMU defense, mustering just a .163 hitting percentage, but the Chippewas were equal to the task, shutting down the Eagles offense in return.
Eight aces also aided the Maroon and Gold's cause as they claimed their sixth straight win and seventh in their past eight matches.
The Chippewas will now head south to Athens, Ohio, to face the Ohio Bobcats. The match is scheduled for Saturday at 7 p.m.
