Chippewas Drop 2 At UIC Invite

Andy Glezen,CMUChippewas.com

CHICAGO – After starting out its season with a victory, the Central Michigan volleyball team dropped two matches on Saturday to conclude the UIC Invitational.
The Chippewas (1-2) fell to Bryant 20-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-22, 15-11 and later to the invitational-host Flames 25-23, 25-21, 25-20.

Kalina Smith led CMU in kills combining for 27 in two matches and finished second on the team with 25 digs on the day. Megan Kern led the Chippewas with 33 digs and Marissa Grant dished out 78 assists.

ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM
Smith's effort on the offensive and defensive end earned her a spot on the All-Tournament team. The sophomore finished the invitational with 42 kills, 28 digs, three blocks and two aces.
"She brings a threat as blocker, attacker and server and she was a pretty steady player for us this weekend," said CMU head coach Mike Gawlik. "We will expect big things from her."

WHAT HAPPENED
CMU dropped the first set against Bryant, but a pair of fast starts propelled the Chippewas to a victory in sets two and three. The Bulldogs pulled away late in sets four and five to win the afternoon match.
In the second match of the day, UIC held off a late comeback attempt by CMU to win the first set. The Chippewas then dropped two close sets falling to the Flames.
"There were times when we were clicking on all cylinders, everyone was contributing and we were really tough to defend," Gawlik said. "What we didn't see was consistency. That is something we have to fight for and execute."

NEXT
Central Michigan returns to action next weekend in Mount Pleasant hosting the Chippewa Invitational. CMU faces La Salle (12:30 p.m.) and DePaul (7:30 p.m.) on Friday and Valparaiso (3:30 p.m.) on Saturday.

Next Event

Team Stats

Kalina Smith

Jayla Wesley

Savannah Thompson

Lyza Myers

Players Mentioned

Marissa Grant

Megan Kern

Kalina Smith

Players Mentioned

Marissa Grant

Megan Kern

Kalina Smith