Central Michigan University Athletics
Volleyball Drops Fourth Straight, Swept by Rival Broncos
10/27/2012 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Central Michigan dropped its fourth-straight contest Friday night, falling to Mid-American Conference West Division leader and rival Western Michigan in straight sets.
The Broncos (15-9, 8-3 MAC) dropped the Chippewas (12-10, 6-5 MAC) in straight sets in Kalamazoo for the second time in three years, 25-17, 26-24, 25-15.
The Chippewas held tight with the Broncos through the first set, but were never able to take the lead as Western led from start to finish. The game was tied at 15-15 before the Broncos started a run in which they scored five of the next seven points to take a 20-17 lead and force a CMU timeout. The run continued for the MAC West leaders out of the timeout and eventually ended up as a 10-2 run to drop the Chippewas, 25-17.
CMU seemed poised to tie the match at a set apiece heading into the break, as it used a 7-3 run behind a pair of kills from senior Lindsey Dulude and an ace from senior Samantha Brawley to turn a 9-9 tie into a 16-12 advantage. After the Broncos pulled within two, 19-17, the Chippewas extended their lead back to four, 21-17 on a kill from junior Kelly Maxwell and a double block by sophomore Kaitlyn McIntyre and freshman Angelique White to force a WMU timeout.
The Broncos rallied out of the timeout and pulled within two, 23-21, to force a CMU timeout and eventually tied the set, 23-23 on a kill by Jessica Brown, forcing another timeout by the Chippewas. A double block by Ali Gossen and Brown gave the Broncos the lead, 24-23, and after CMU fought off one set point, Western closed the match on another double block from the tandem of Gossen and Brown.
The Maroon and Gold came out of the break and were able to take a quick 2-1 lead on kills by sophomore Hallie Enderle and senior Lindsey Dulude, but the lead was short lived as Western scored five straight and 10 of the next 11 points to claim an 11-3 advantage. CMU was unable to get any closer than within seven points the rest of the set and eventually saw the Broncos close things out with yet another blocke from Ali Gossen, who finished with five on the night.
Dulude led the Chippewas with a double-double, recording 10 kills and 10 digs, while Maxwell dished out 18 assists. The Chippewas were held to just a .106 hitting percentage while the Broncos hit .279.
CMU will continue its road trip and look to snap its four-match skid tomorrow evening when it takes on Northern Illinois at 7 p.m.
