Central Michigan University
Northern Illinois
Chippewas Fall in 5 at Northern Illinois
11/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
DEKALB, Ill. - Central Michigan needs a win, and some help.
With a Mid-American Conference Tournament bid on the line, the Central Michigan volleyball team entered Friday night in desperate need of a win. But a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to MAC West champ Northern Illinois (21-8, 14-1 MAC) took away the Chippewas' complete control of their own postseason fate.
CMU dropped the first set, 25-15, before claiming the second, 25-22. After a 25-18 NIU win in the third, the Chippewas won by a 25-15 decision in the fourth to force a final set. But the Huskies went on to claim the match with a 15-9 advantage in the fifth.
"We were more competitive tonight with (the Huskies) than the first time we played them this year," CMU coach Erik Olson said. "We didn't get off to the start we would have liked in the early going, but we began to shine more towards the end.
"I'm happy that we played competitive, but I still believe this team can beat (NIU). If we get an opportunity to play them for a third time next week (in the tournament), I like our chances. We have to take care of things on our end in order to get there."
Junior Angelique White led CMU in kills with 15, while posting a .344 hitting percentage. Senior Kaitlyn McIntyre and Hallie Enderle added 14 and 11 kills respectively.
"(White) was jumping over the top of NIU players," Olson said. "She worked hard throughout the match and earned herself great positioning. She was one of the better transition players for us tonight."
As a team, the Chippewas tallied a .142 hitting percentage and had 36 errors on the attack. They also allowed 19 NIU blocks.
"That's really a staggering number (of blocks)," Olson said. "We took dumb swings and we told the players after the match that we can't do that. It makes things too easy for our opponents if we swing right into them."
Freshman setter Kylie Copple totaled 37 assists, while junior libero Kristen Reenders recorded 23 digs.
As it stands, CMU is tied with Buffalo (both 5-10 in the MAC) for the eighth and final tournament slot. On Saturday, the Chippewas play at Western Michigan, while Buffalo plays at Toledo. The Bulls own the tiebreaker over CMU, having beaten the Chippewas in a match earlier this season.
The only one scenario under which CMU earns a tournament berth is if beats Western and Buffalo loses to Toledo.
With his team's fate not entirely in its own hands, Olson said he wants all of the Chippewas' focus on their Saturday match with the Broncos.
"We aren't even looking at the standings right now," Olson said. "We know that the only way we extend our season is by winning, so we're going to focus on what we can do, rather than the things we can't control."
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