Central Michigan University
Eastern Michigan
Chippewas Win MAC Volleyball Opener
9/25/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Jared Porter, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - The Central Michigan volleyball team won its Mid American Conference opener on its home court Thursday, defeating Eastern Michigan, 3-1.
The Chippewas are victors in six of their last seven matches, and are riding a five-match winning streak.
CMU topped the Eagles in the first set, 25-19, and second, 25-17. After dropping the third set, 25-21, the Chippewas sealed the victory with a 25-20 win in the fourth.
"I told the team that it was a good win," CMU coach Erik Olson said. "Eastern Michigan has one of the better RPIs (rating) in the conference right now, and I'm pretty happy with our performance.
"We had to grind it out in the fourth set. That's something you have to do in the MAC. Everyone fights, fights, and fights. Tonight's game is evidence of that."
The Chippewas came out strong on the attack, tallying 24 combined kills and just five errors in the first two sets. They recorded a sideout percentage of 73 percent in the first set and 77 percent in the second.
Despite a hefty dip in sideout percentages in the third and fourth sets, the Chippewas were able to make enough plays to close the match.
"(Eastern Michigan) crept in on us in the third set," Olson said. "We had a few bad errors, but overall, we played at a high level. That's directly related to how hard we've been training.
"I think we're growing up. We've never had three freshmen on the floor for us at one time. We're training at a higher level and we're pushing harder."
Freshman outside hitter Jordan Bueter led CMU in kills with 14 with a .344 hitting percentage, while junior middle blocker Angelique White had 12 kills and four blocks. Also for the Chippewas, freshman setter Kylie Copple finished with 42 assists, and defensive specialist Kristen Reenders posted a team-high 27 digs and had two of CMU's five service aces.
"The team is great at keeping me on the right path," said Bueter, who added 13 digs on the night. "I wanted to come out strong tonight and I was able to do it."
"I worked a lot this week on defending (Eastern's) setter," White said. "She attacks a lot more than any of the other setters that we've seen. I focused on concealing the outside and shutting her down. We did a great job as a team on defense tonight. We communicated really well at the net."
Next up for the Chippewas is a MAC matchup with Ohio (8-4) at McGuirk Arena on Saturday. The Bobcats defeated Kent State, 3-1, in their league opener on Thursday.
"(Ohio) is a completely different opponent," Olson said. "It's going to be power volleyball Saturday night. They have a big block, a solid libero and two returning All-Americans. But we match up well with what they do. They have a lot of jump-top serves, so we're going to get more comfortable with that in Friday's practice."
