Central Michigan University Athletics
Cardinals Serve Past Chippewas, 3-1
11/13/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. - Kaitlyn Schultz had a team-high 15 kills and six block assists as the Central Michigan volleyball team was defeated by Ball State Saturday night, 3-1 (23-25, 25-17, 15-25,16-25), in the team's last conference match.
The Chippewas (15-12, 8-8), down 2-1 heading into the fourth set, saw the Cardinals (23-6, 12-4) bolt out to a 20-6 lead to begin the set. A kill by Schultz stopped the bleeding, but the damage was already done as BSU claimed the set, 25-16.
"The difference in the third and fourth set tonight was the serving of Brittany McGinnis," said head coach Erik Olson. "She began serving in both of those sets and our team just couldn't handle her serve. I thought our defense was playing well up till that point. We just didn't adjust."
The first set began with CMU off to a 4-1 lead. The Maroon and Gold were forced into a timeout after a 10-1 Cardinal run. The Chippewas regained the lead, 17-15, following back-to-back kills from Lindsey Dulude aiding a 5-0 run. Both teams traded points to end the set, but it was a service ace from the Cardinals that handed them a 25-23 win.
Again the Chippewas jumped out early, 8-3, following two Dulude kills in set two. Dulude continued to swing hard with back-to-back kills push her team's lead out to 16-10. After an ace from Schultz coupled with another great swing from Dulude the Chippewas claimed the second set, 25-17. Dulude finished the second set with six kills and hit .556.
Jenna Coates began the third set with an error, and McGinnis served 10 straight times, including four aces, as she put her team out front 10-1. Schultz stopped the rotation with a kill, but the Cardinals' offense went to work with four different players scoring to build a 20-7 lead. Katie Schuette entered the match and recorded two kills, but the deficit was too great to overcome as BSU won the third set 25-15.
Dulude finished the night with 10 kills as Kailtyn McIntyre added nine. Kelly Maxwell quarterbacked the offense with 41 assists, while four Chippewas dug eight balls each.
As a team the Maroon and Gold hit .204 on the night while their opponent hit .283. They out-blocked the Cardinals 10-7, but it was the BSU service aces that hurt the Chippewas. BSU recorded eight aces, seven of which came from McGinnis.
CMU has claimed the sixth seed in the Mid-American Conference tournament and will open up Friday, in the SPIRE Institute at 1:30 p.m. against third seed Western Michigan.
