Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Target Focus, Execution Ahead of Evansville Inv.
9/11/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Jared Porter, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Focus and execution have been the key points Central Michigan volleyball coach Erik Olson has been preaching to his team this week at practice as they prepare for the Evansville Invitational.
"When we play live play, if there are certain things that happen, they have to go back and sideout three perfect balls to a quick set," Olson said after Wednesday's practice. "If they don't, we're doing sprints.
"It keeps them in a much crisper, mentally sharp area. It cuts down a lot of mistakes and we play much cleaner."
The Chippewas (0-6) are looking to claim their first victory of the season in this weekend's invitational. They open with Evansville (2-5) on Friday and match up with Indiana-Purdue-Indianapolis (2-5) and DePaul (2-4) on Saturday.
"Each team has their own little niche, so I'm out there this week mimicking some of the players we're going to see. I'm doing some weird things that our team isn't used to seeing," Olson said, adding he would like to see a more aggressive mindset from his players.
"One of the players we played last weekend had 68 kills, where as the best players on our team had anywhere from 35 to 50," he said. "That's a concerning number, but really I want us to stop playing ourselves. That's the most concerning thing."
Evansville's victories came against New Hampshire, 3-0, and Morehead State, 3-1. Senior outside hitter Ashley Ring leads the Purple Aces with 112 kills, and averages 3.61 per set.
Olson said the continued strong play of senior setter Danielle Thompson is one of the Chippewas' keys.
"I think (Thompson) keeps getting better," he said, adding that freshman Kylie Copple, who has seen significant playing time at the position through six matches this season, "has stepped up this week. I want to see Kylie step up and get back on the court for us, but Thompson is doing a fantastic job. That's the great thing about competition; it makes everyone get better."
One of the areas of the Chippewas' game that Olson wants improved this weekend is passing, to which they have devoted a majority of their time in practice this week.
"We've spent almost 50 percent of our time on passing," Olson said. "We looked at our numbers, and I would give our passing a D from last weekend. We have improved that to an A this week. It has gone through the roof. Now I have challenged them to do that on their own. That's the stuff they need to own."
Despite CMU being winless on the season, Olson said his main concern is the team's continuous improvement game-by-game.
"We have to stop using the word win," Olson said. "That's not in my vocabulary and we have to stop using it. It's about the process and it's not about winning. If you take care of the little things, then winning comes with it as a by-product. I have preached that and preached that, so now we're focused on the little things and it has paid off well for us."
