Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Make Tourney Push on Final Weekend
11/14/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - It's simple: Win two, and you're in.
Lose a match, or even two? Well, that gets a little more complicated.
The Central Michigan volleyball team faces a number of scenarios regarding the Mid-American Conference Tournament as it enters the final week of the regular season, a road trip that will take it to Northern Illinois (Friday) and Western Michigan (Saturday).
The first option -- the one CMU coach Erik Olson and his players obviously would prefer -- is for the Chippewas to win both matches. If they do that, they're in the tournament as the eighth, and final, seed.
The Chippewas, 10-16 overall, are 5-9 in the conference. Buffalo is 5-10 in league play, while Bowling Green is 4-10.
Buffalo closes the regular season Saturday at Toledo, which has won just one match all season. Bowling Green plays at East Division champion Ohio (21-4, 14-0) on Friday and at Kent State (15-12, 7-7) on Saturday.
A loss to either MAC West champ Northern Illinois (20-8, 13-1) or archrival Western Michigan (16-13, 7-7) would severely damage CMU's tournament hopes, particularly in light of the fact that Buffalo holds the tie-breaker, head-to-head result (Buffalo defeated the Chippewas in four sets three weeks ago).
The Chippewas hold the tie-breaker over Bowling Green.
"It's in our hands completely and if we go take care of business," CMU coach Erik Olson said.
It won't be easy. The Huskies (20-8 overall) are the MAC West champions and have lost just once in the past two months. Both NIU and Western defeated the Chippewas, 3-1, earlier this season at McGuirk Arena.
In both matches, the Chippewas won the third set. Against Western, they dropped the fourth, 27-25.
"We really looked like we didn't make Northern play more than a set-and-a-half last time," Olson said. "That's the challenge. What's our team going to do at their place in what we consider the nastiest environment in the MAC?
"We know exactly what needs to be done to win this match. We've just got to go out there and execute it. In the Western match we were that close."
The weekend brings to an end a regular season that has seen its share of ups and downs, which was not unexpected, as Olson sought to blend a good number of true freshmen with the established veterans.
The Chippewas started the season 0-6, then went 2-1 at the Evansville Invitational, and posted a 3-0 mark at the Cincinnati Invitational. CMU opened the MAC portion of its schedule 2-1, and was 4-5 in league play at one point, but has since lost four of its last five conference matches.
Kaitlyn McIntyre has, despite a nagging injury, put together a solid senior season, one that has put her in position to earn all-conference for the third consecutive season. She ranks sixth in the league in kills per game.
Several veterans have stepped up and turned in good-to-great seasons, including libero Kristen Reenders and middle blocker Angelique White, both of whom are juniors.
Still, the Chippewas are a relatively young group, and the growing pains have, at times, been visible in 2014. Just one of CMU's nine conference losses has been a 3-0 sweep, and two of those nine have gone to five sets. The Chippewas have dropped just one set in their four league victories.
Setter Kylie Copple, outside hitters Jordan Bueter and Taylor Robertson, and defensive specialist Courtney Hiltibran are among the freshman who have played significant roles throughout the season.
"You don't really know how much you've learned until you take the test," Olson said. "The season-long story, I think, is we're young and you plant your seeds and you fertilize them and put water on them.
"If you have 60 days to grow them, what do they look like? What does your neighbor's look like? That's the bottom line here. We've got to hope that our garden looks pretty good this weekend. We've certainly been taking care of our garden. We'll see how it looks when it's all said and done.
"It's been a season of learning rather than conquering a mountain. That's what I'm hoping for with this team, that we get some of the payback for all the hard work that we've put in."
