Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan University
Fresno State
Chippewas Finish 1-3 on California Trip
9/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Final Stats vs. Fresno State Final Stats vs. UC Riverside
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
FRESNO, Calif. - The Central Michigan volleyball team closed the Bulldog Showdown with a 3-0 loss Saturday night to host Fresno State.
The Chippewas (3-7) finished 1-3 in the tournament. They fell, 3-0, to UC Riverside earlier on Saturday and on Friday split their two matches, defeating Cal State Fullerton, 3-2, and falling to Sacramento State, 3-1.
Sophomore outside hitter Jordan Bueter was named to the all-tournament team after collecting a team-high 45 kills - an average of three per set -- to lead the Chippewas. She also had a team-best 10 aces and 37 digs.
Fresno State (5-5) topped the CMU, 27-25, 25-19, 25-19 on Saturday night. On Saturday morning, UC Riverside (4-6) defeated the Chippewas, 25-19, 26-24, 25-17.
"I didn't want to come walking away from the tournament with this record, but we certainly got a lot of experience to draw on this weekend," CMU coach Erik Olson said.
After the cross-country flight, the Chippewas opened with a victory over Fullerton then fell to a good Sacramento State team that went unbeaten on the weekend to win the tournament.
"We did some good things," Olson said. "Fullerton was an up-and-down, but we came away with a win. Sac State, that was a great competitive match. We had a swing to win the fourth set and send it to five. They won the tournament and they're 10-1. It was a great match (for us) from a hitting-efficiency standpoint. We didn't give anything away."
The loss to UC Riverside on Saturday morning was a disappointment, Olson said, but the Chippewas rebounded and played well, relatively speaking, against Fresno.
"We didn't show up (against Riverside)," Olson said. "I don't know if it was fatigue. We had troubles with our passing and serve receive. It was the type of match as a coach you hope you don't have too many of those."
Against Fresno "we had great energy," Olson said. "Just too many attack errors. We had an opportunity to snag that first set, which is very important, and we let it get away from us.
"Fresno's libero was just incredible and that probably frustrated our hitters a little bit."
Overall, Olson said, the tournament served its purpose in that it put the Chippewas in a position where they faced stiffed competition under less-than-ideal conditions. Those are factors, he said, that he hopes well serve his team in the long run.
"Definitely fatigue was a part of this, but we knew that would be a part it when we scheduled it," he said. "We've just got to be cleaner."
Against UC Riverside, Bueter and Taylor Robertson had seven kills apiece to lead CMU, while Jessica Meictry added six. Setter Marissa Grant finished with 18 assists and two aces, while Jamison Wolffis led the Chippewa defense with 17 digs. Kalle Mulford had six block assists.
Bueter, Angie White and Meichtry finished with seven kills apiece against Fresno, while Kathia Sanchez - battling an injury she suffered in the match with Sacramento State - finished with 20 assists.
"She went down in the Sac State match in set three at a pretty critical time," Olson said. "We had to sub in her in sub her out and help her in certain situations so she didn't have to run as much."
Sanchez played very well, Olson said, in CMU's two Friday matches before sitting out against Riverside on Saturday morning because of the injury. She finished the tournament with 86 assists.
"Our hitting percentage in those first two matches were through the roof," Olson said. "They really surged up. She put our hitters in a lot of great situations."
Wolffis had 18 digs in the match against Fresno, and Bueter finished with five aces and nine digs.
The Chippewas will open at home next weekend with the annual Chippewa Challenge at McGuirk Arena. Evansville, San Jose State and Nebraska-Omaha round out the field. CMU opens on Friday (7 p.m.) against Evansville and will play San Jose State (12:30 p.m.) and Nebraska-Omaha (7:30 p.m.) on Sautrday.
