Chippewas Step Up Against Defending Champs

Andy Glezen, CMUChippewas.com

LINCOLN, Neb. – Facing one of the nation's best, the Central Michigan volleyball opened the Husker Invite on Friday with a loss to defending-national champion Nebraska, the host team. The Chippewas followed with a loss to Missouri State.

The Chippewas (3-8) lost to the fourth-ranked Cornhuskers, 25-18, 25-15, 25-11 and then dropped a 25-14, 25-15, 25-21 decision to Missouri State.

CMU will close the invitational facing New Mexico on Saturday (12:30 p.m.).

Lyza Myers led the Chippewas with a combined 13 kills and Savannah Thompson added 12 in the two matches. Making her return to lineup, setter Grace Butler shared the team lead with Kendall Braate with 20 assists apiece.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Central Michigan battled, outhitting the Huskers for the majority of the first set, but Nebraska (7-1) came away with a 25-18 set victory. CMU dropped the next two sets, but Myers posted a 42.9 hitting percentage with eight kills.

After dropping the first two sets to Missouri State (7-5), the Chippewas were all square at 13 in set three but the Bears scored six straight points propelling them to the match victory.

"We started off the day playing against Nebraska which is a tremendous opportunity to play against some of the best players in the country," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "I felt like there were some good moments where we stepped up and played big-time and I thought there were some moments where we need to grow."

ELECTRIC ATMOSPHERE
CMU played in front of 7,907 fans at the Cornhuskers' Bob Devaney Sports Center. Gawlik said it was an incredible opportunity for his relatively young squad to play in such an atmosphere.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience for some of our players to showcase their talents under a little bit of pressure and a little bit of nerves," he said. "We came here for the experience so we could compete against really good teams."

DEFENSE
Jayla Wesley had a team-high five blocks, two of which came against Nebraska.

Thompson had a combined 15 digs on the day to lead the Chippewas, while Emily Wenglikowski posted 14.

MOVING FORWARD
"Even though we didn't win the matches, I hope we win long term and growing our experiences and perspective for the sport and how to play with maturity," Gawlik said. "We've been saying nobody has to do everything and everyone has to do something. I'd like to see more people contribute (Saturday)."

NEXT
Central Michigan will open Mid-American Conference play by entertaining Eastern Michigan on Thursday (7 p.m.) at McGuirk Arena.

Next Event

Team Stats

Lyza Myers

Savannah Thompson

Kalina Smith

Maddie Whitfield

Players Mentioned

Kendall Braate

Grace Butler

Lyza Myers

Savannah Thompson

Emily Wenglikowski

Jayla Wesley

Players Mentioned

Kendall Braate

Grace Butler

Lyza Myers

Savannah Thompson

Emily Wenglikowski

Jayla Wesley