Friday, November 9
Dekalb, Ill.
8:00 P.M.
Central Michigan University
at
NIU
Photo by: Allissa Rusco
Volleyball Closes Season With Road Trip To NIU, Western Michigan
11/8/2018 12:50:00 PM | Volleyball
Chippewas look to continue season-ending surge
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Central Michigan volleyball team won't make the Mid-American Conference Tournament this season, but the Chippewas do have the opportunity to complete their late-season surge with a pair of wins this weekend when they close the year with a trip to Northern Illinois and Western Michigan.
The Chippewas have won four of their last five matches after a 0-9 start in Mid-American Conference play. They are 7-19 overall, 4-10 MAC, and play at NIU on Friday (8 p.m.) and at Western Michigan on Saturday (7 p.m.).
Of CMU's recent four victories, three have come against teams – Eastern Michigan, Ball State and Toledo -- that the Chippewas had lost to earlier in the season.
"We want to show (NIU and WMU) and the rest of the conference that we've improved in the second half," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "We've had three opportunities to show teams in our league that we've improved a lot. (This weekend) is two opportunities to settle the score that we let get out of hand in the first half of the year."
GROWTH
The Chippewas posted three-set wins over Ball State and Toledo last weekend. The Cardinals entered the game leading the MAC West. Both the Cardinals and Rockets had swept CMU earlier this season.
"There were some rough points in the middle of the season, there were opportunities for us to make a choice as a team: 'Are we going to fight back, are we going to cash it in?'" Gawlik said. "There have been points this season where we've been down 9-1, 10-1. I don't like that we've been down, but we found ways to get right back into those matches."
FINAL TIME
The weekend's matches are the last for two CMU seniors, Marissa Grant and Emily Wenglikowski.
CHIPPEWA LEADERS
Sophomore outside hitter Kalina Smith leads CMU with 295 kills; sophomore Lyza Myers and freshman Savannah Thompson are tied for second on the team with 232.
Thompson, who was named the MAC West Offensive Player of the Week, leads the Chippewas with 21 aces and ranks second on the team with 318 digs. Junior libero Megan Kern leads the Chippewas in digs with 350.
Freshman Maddie Whitfield, the reigning MAC West Defensive Player of the Week, leads the Chippewas with 72 blocks. Setters Grace Butler and Kendall Braate have combined for 792 assists; CMU ranks fourth in the conference with 11.81 assists per set.
SCOUTING
NIU enters Friday's match 10-19, 8-6 MAC; the Huskies are tied for second with Eastern Michigan in the MAC West. The Huskies defeated the Chippewas in four sets in Mount Pleasant on Oct. 6.
The Huskies are led by 6-foot-4 senior middle blocker Meg Wolowicz, who leads the MAC with 432 kills and ranks second in the conference with 4.0 kills per set. NIU sophomore Jori Radtke has added 371 kills and 312 digs on the season.
Western Michigan enters the weekend 14-14, 4-10. The Broncos are 6-5 on their University Arena home floor. They defeated the Chippewas in three sets on Oct. 5 at McGuirk Arena. WMU plays host to Eastern Michigan on Friday.
Sophomore Rachel Bontrager leads the Broncos with 409 kills. Setter Mary Murphy leads the MAC with 1,022 assists; she ranks third in the league with 9.82 assists per set.
The Chippewas have won four of their last five matches after a 0-9 start in Mid-American Conference play. They are 7-19 overall, 4-10 MAC, and play at NIU on Friday (8 p.m.) and at Western Michigan on Saturday (7 p.m.).
Of CMU's recent four victories, three have come against teams – Eastern Michigan, Ball State and Toledo -- that the Chippewas had lost to earlier in the season.
"We want to show (NIU and WMU) and the rest of the conference that we've improved in the second half," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "We've had three opportunities to show teams in our league that we've improved a lot. (This weekend) is two opportunities to settle the score that we let get out of hand in the first half of the year."
GROWTH
The Chippewas posted three-set wins over Ball State and Toledo last weekend. The Cardinals entered the game leading the MAC West. Both the Cardinals and Rockets had swept CMU earlier this season.
"There were some rough points in the middle of the season, there were opportunities for us to make a choice as a team: 'Are we going to fight back, are we going to cash it in?'" Gawlik said. "There have been points this season where we've been down 9-1, 10-1. I don't like that we've been down, but we found ways to get right back into those matches."
FINAL TIME
The weekend's matches are the last for two CMU seniors, Marissa Grant and Emily Wenglikowski.
CHIPPEWA LEADERS
Sophomore outside hitter Kalina Smith leads CMU with 295 kills; sophomore Lyza Myers and freshman Savannah Thompson are tied for second on the team with 232.
Thompson, who was named the MAC West Offensive Player of the Week, leads the Chippewas with 21 aces and ranks second on the team with 318 digs. Junior libero Megan Kern leads the Chippewas in digs with 350.
Freshman Maddie Whitfield, the reigning MAC West Defensive Player of the Week, leads the Chippewas with 72 blocks. Setters Grace Butler and Kendall Braate have combined for 792 assists; CMU ranks fourth in the conference with 11.81 assists per set.
SCOUTING
NIU enters Friday's match 10-19, 8-6 MAC; the Huskies are tied for second with Eastern Michigan in the MAC West. The Huskies defeated the Chippewas in four sets in Mount Pleasant on Oct. 6.
The Huskies are led by 6-foot-4 senior middle blocker Meg Wolowicz, who leads the MAC with 432 kills and ranks second in the conference with 4.0 kills per set. NIU sophomore Jori Radtke has added 371 kills and 312 digs on the season.
Western Michigan enters the weekend 14-14, 4-10. The Broncos are 6-5 on their University Arena home floor. They defeated the Chippewas in three sets on Oct. 5 at McGuirk Arena. WMU plays host to Eastern Michigan on Friday.
Sophomore Rachel Bontrager leads the Broncos with 409 kills. Setter Mary Murphy leads the MAC with 1,022 assists; she ranks third in the league with 9.82 assists per set.
Players Mentioned
Setter/Outside Hitter
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Setter
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Setter
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Libero
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Outside Hitter
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Outside Hitter
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Outside Hitter
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Defensive Specialist/Outside Hitter
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