Central Michigan University Athletics
Gold Wins In High Intensity Scrimmage
8/20/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Freshman Kaitlyn McIntyre had 16 kills while the Gold Central Michigan volleyball team had 26 blocks in five sets during the Maroon and Gold scrimmage that took place Saturday inside McGuirk Arena.
"I felt really good playing out there today," said McIntyre. "The older girls have really helped me out in preseason and gave me the confidence I needed. Playing in McGuirk was awesome and just the fact of running out with the fight song playing gave me chills."
Val DeWeerd hit .556 with seven kills in the five sets, aided by eight block assists from Kaitlyn Schultz in the Gold's victory.
"I don't think we used Schultz nearly enough today," said head coach Erik Olson. "Our setters need to do a better job finding her in the offense. With that being said however, McIntyre had a big day and I really enjoyed seeing her play in not just the attack but in the passing and defense as well."
Shining on the Maroon side was Hallie Enderle who had a team-high 12 kills and hit the ball at .333. She also added six block assists.
The battle between the two setters, Catherine Ludwig and Kelly Maxwell, saw Ludwig finish with 41 assists while Maxwell notched 35. Libero Jenna Coates had 17 digs for the gold team, while her opponent, alumna Lisa Johnson had eight.
"Everyone had an opportunity to step up and create some separation today," said Olson. "We saw a lot of people stepping up but not a lot of separation. What really stood out to me was the fact that we blocked extremely well with 14 team blocks. This was the most high-level scrimmage we have had before a season so that is exciting for us."
The Maroon and Gold will open their season Friday, Aug. 26 when they play Iowa in the Iowa Invitational.
"Before Friday our defense needs to work on working better with our blockers," Olson said. "We need to make better use of the touches coming off the blocks.
