Central Michigan University Athletics
Volleyball Makes Tournament Push on Final Home Weekend
11/6/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Kevin Meyer, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- The Central Michigan University volleyball team has had an up-and-down journey in Mid-American Conference play this season, yet remains in the hunt for a league tournament bid.
The Chippewas (9-15 overall, 4-8 MAC) play a pair of conference matches at home this weekend, the first against Ball State (14-11, 8-4) on Friday, the second against Toledo (1-24, 0-12) on Saturday, which is CMU's final home game and its Senior Night. Three Chippewa seniors, Kaitlyn McIntyre, Danielle Thompson and Hallie Enderle, will be honored prior to the first serve.
CMU is tied with Bowling Green and Buffalo for the eighth and final tournament slot.
The Chippewas lost to Ball State earlier this season, 3-1, in Muncie, Ind.
"I thought we played really badly at Ball State a month ago in terms of effort and yet we were still in the mix in that match," CMU coach Erik Olson. "We're a lot better, but they're probably a lot better. "They're good. They find ways to score. They're a very, very good ball-handling team. They serve and pass very well."
The Chippewas and the Cardinals are fairly evenly matched statistically, yet the Cardinals hold the second-place spot in the MAC West.
Central Michigan is led by senior outside hitter Kaitlyn McIntyre, who is sixth in the MAC in kills with 275, a 3.16 average. Feeding her the ball is freshman setter Kylie Copple, with 9.50 assists per game. Copple has split time at the position with senior Danielle Thompson, who has provided the Chippewas with a spark on several occasions, including during what ultimately became a five-set loss last Saturday at Kent State.
"Danielle made great decisions," Olson said in reference to Thompson's performance against the Golden Flashes. "She set away from what was going on on the other side of the net, and put our hitters in better situations and better quality sets and brought a little more energy to the court."
The Copple-Thompson choice isn't the only personnel option in Olson's arsenal.
"If we end up mixing some things up on Friday night, we mix some things up," Olson said. "I think we've got to put the best kids on the floor."
Ball State fields an impressive trio of hitters averaging 2.5 or more kills per set. Junior Hayley Benson leads the Cardinals with 2.87, followed by Sabrina Mangapora (2.61) and Kelly Hopkins (2.49).
The Cardinals are sixth in the league with a .205 hitting percentage, while the Chippewas are seventh at .203.
In the second matchup of the weekend, the Chippewas face the Rockets, winners of just one match this season, who are allowing opposing teams to hit a MAC-worst .261. Toledo is fifth in the conference in digs, averaging 15.17 per set. Freshman Lauren Bakaitis leads the Rockets with 3.99 digs per set.
Despite what is at stake for the Chippewas this weekend, Olson said he and the team are simply focusing on the task at hand: Ball State first, and then Toledo. CMU closes the regular season next weekend with a road trip to Northern Illinois and then Western Michigan. "All that does is add stress to your situation," Olson said with regard to won-loss records and tournament-berth scenarios. "I haven't told them how many they have to win or all that stuff. Our next opportunity is our best opportunity. "Our job always, whether it's the first match of the season, or whether it's a championship night, our process is always the same. We've got to go out and play."
