Central Michigan University
Penn
CMU Volleyball Looks To Rebound On Saturday
9/1/2017 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Lindsay Gerber, CMUChippewas.com
FAIRFAX, Va. - Despite a 14-kill effort from Jordan Bueter, the Central Michigan volleyball team dropped its opener of the George Mason Invitational, 3-1, to Penn.
It was the first loss of the season for the Chippewas (3-1). CMU will look to bounce back on Saturday with a pair of games to close the invitational. The Chippewas will take on Campbell (5-0) at 1:30 p.m. and will then play the host Patriots (1-4) at 7 p.m. Campbell defeated Penn 3-2 in their first game of the invitational and had the 3-0 sweep against George Mason.
"(Campbell) is really going to make us play some high-level volleyball to beat them," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "So, first things first. We're going to have to come out at 1:30 ready to play a team that's 2-0 (in the tournament) and ready to leave the weekend undefeated. That's where our focus is."
Penn captured an early lead in set one, 25-16 and 25-21 in set two. The Chippewas took set three, 25-19, but couldn't keep the momentum going as they dropped the fourth set, 25-17.
"Penn kind of took advantage of sets one and two," Gawlik said. "I liked how we came out and answered back in set three to push back. We got in an unfortunate set of points there in set four, but I thought if we could've extended it, I liked our chances."
Bueter, who posted a .256 hitting percentage, had seven digs against the Quakers. Lyza Myers also had double digit kills for the Chippewas with 10, while Taylor Robertson and Grace Butler added six apiece. CMU setter Grace Butler finished with 37 assists,
"Jordan was a bright spot for us on the left side," said Gawlik. "She was the one to turn the ship around and get us going in the right direction in set three. We just need a little more versatility in our offense and she needs some other people to step up and answer the call offensively."
Parker Jones led the offense for Penn with 21 kills. She also had seven digs.
Penn finished with a .270 attack percentage against CMU's .188.
"I like our resilience," Gawlik said. "We keep bouncing back when faced with adversity. If we can sustain that all season long, it'll be a trait that'll be a back bone of what we're about."
