Central Michigan University
Akron
Chippewas Post MAC Volleyball Sweep
10/24/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Jared Porter, CMUChippewas.com
AKRON, Ohio - Kaitlyn McIntyre made a triumphant return to the Central Michigan lineup Friday, turning in a near-flawless performance in leading the Chippewas to a 3-0 sweep of Akron in a Mid-American Conference match.
The Chippewas swept the Zips in three sets, 25-16, 25-19, 26-24, improving to 9-12 overall, 4-5 MAC.
McIntyre was back after sitting out CMU's two previous matches with an injury. She returned with a bang, recording 13 kills with an attack percentage of .619. She had zero errors on the attack and added six digs.
"(McIntyre) was spectacular for us tonight," CMU coach Erik Olson said. "I mean to come back the way she did and play flawless, that's huge. There aren't many players that can miss games and then return at that high of a level. But that's (McIntyre) for you."
The Chippewas had an overall hitting percentage of .283 while holding Akron to .125. Olson attributed much of the team's offensive success to the setting of freshman Kylie Copple, who tallied 32 assists.
"We had a strong setter-hitter connection tonight in the first two sets," Olson said. "(Copple) did a great job with her placement in her sets and that allowed our hitters to go at it. We slowed down a little bit in the third because Akron did a nice job changing up their serves and giving us different looks. But we adjusted nicely to get the win."
In addition to the Chippewas' exceptional offensive performance, defense was a strength, Olson said. The Chippewas totaled 36 digs -- 13 from defensive specialist Kristen Reenders -- as well as seven blocks.
"I think 80 percent of the match was in our control because of our defense," Olson said. "Reenders did a great job cleaning up the back row with her 13 digs. As a team, we did a great job getting the ball in the air to keep points alive.
"An anomaly to me tonight was our blocking. We had six solo blocks on the night of our seven total. I don't know if I've ever seen that before. It just comes back to the effort we displayed tonight. We have to keep that intensity going into our upcoming matches."
The Chippewas finish their weekend road trip at Buffalo (13-10, 3-6) Saturday. The Bulls lost their fourth consecutive match on Friday, 3-2, to Eastern Michigan.
"We can't speed up time, so we have to take care of everything one match at a time," Olson said. "We need to be healthy and we need a good night's rest so we can take care of business (Saturday).
"We had five freshmen come off the bench (against Akrton). We're a young team and a lot of our players are seeing these teams for the first time, so there will be some inconsistencies. But we're going to battle through it and do the best we can. The rest will take care of itself."
Mary Delich had eight kills fro the Zips, 8-16, 2-7.
