Thursday, October 3
Ypsilanti, MI
7 p.m.
Central Michigan University
14-2
3
at
1
Eastern Michigan
6-10
1
2
3
4
F
Central Mich.
18
25
25
25
3
Eastern Mich.
25
23
21
20
1
Photo by: Allissa Rusco
Chippewas Run Win Streak To 8
10/3/2019 10:57:00 PM | Volleyball
CMU, unbeaten in MAC play, returns home Saturday night
YPSILANTI, Mich. – Make it eight straight wins, and an unblemished ledger in the Mid-American Conference, for the Central Michigan volleyball team.
The Chippewas got 15 kills from Savannah Thompson on Thursday as they downed Eastern Michigan, 18-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-20, in a MAC match at the Eagles' Convocation Center.
CMU improve to 13-2, 3-0 MAC. Eastern is 5-10, 0-3.
How It Happened
Eastern scored seven consecutive points in jumping to a 15-6 lead in the first set, and eventually held off the Chippewas, who, despite dropping the set, appeared to gain momentum that they would ride throughout the rest of the night.
"We rebounded from a really disastrous start," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "We used our second timeout to re-establish our offense so we could get some momentum going for set two and beyond. Outside of that initial burst where EMU jumped on us, I thought we outplayed them in the second half of the first set.
"We made a couple of adjustments to our lineup in sets two and three, and I thought it put us in a better position to capitalize on some players who were playing well.
"We won a close one in set two, I thought it could have went either way. I thought we grinded out sets three and four. I don't know if we brought our absolute top game today, but gritty competitors find a way to win one point at a time. It wasn't the prettiest match, but I liked the team's response to a tough first set."
Leaders
In just her third game back from injury, Thompson led the Chippewas in both kills and digs (18).
"(Thompson) carried a big load for us offensively," Gawlik said. "I thought she took some big swings, and some responsible swings, not always hitting the ball as hard as possible, but making EMU defend a lot of the court.
"That's what she brings to us, in a wonderful way. She makes teams defend a lot of different things against her. Her contribution on the serve receive effort, and offensively, is something that can't be understated."
Also for CMU, Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez added 12 kills and had a team-high .476 attack percentage, while Maddie Whitfield added eight kills on a .316 attack percentage in her first game back from injury. She posted four blocks, sharing team-high honors in that category with Anna Erickson.
"She's getting her legs back underneath her, and getting back into game shape," Gawlik said of Whitfield. "That long run EMU had in the first set, she got stuck out there, and didn't get a break. I thought she did a nice job of rebounding from a tough start in the first set. She hit .000 percent in the first set, but found a way to hit .316 for the game. She got better as the match went on."
CMU setters Grace Butler and Kendall Braate combined for 42 assists, while Kalina Smith, who also had eight kills, and Megan Kern each had 16 digs.
Numbers
CMU finished with an attack percentage of .186. The Chippewas attacked at a .314 rate over the final two sets after posting a .056 percentage in the first two. The Chippewas recorded 55 kills, their season high for a four-set match.
Next
CMU will play its first home game in a month on Saturday (8 p.m.) when it entertains Kent State in a MAC game at McGuirk Arena. The Golden Flashes are 7-8, 0-3.
The Chippewas got 15 kills from Savannah Thompson on Thursday as they downed Eastern Michigan, 18-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-20, in a MAC match at the Eagles' Convocation Center.
CMU improve to 13-2, 3-0 MAC. Eastern is 5-10, 0-3.
How It Happened
Eastern scored seven consecutive points in jumping to a 15-6 lead in the first set, and eventually held off the Chippewas, who, despite dropping the set, appeared to gain momentum that they would ride throughout the rest of the night.
"We rebounded from a really disastrous start," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "We used our second timeout to re-establish our offense so we could get some momentum going for set two and beyond. Outside of that initial burst where EMU jumped on us, I thought we outplayed them in the second half of the first set.
"We made a couple of adjustments to our lineup in sets two and three, and I thought it put us in a better position to capitalize on some players who were playing well.
"We won a close one in set two, I thought it could have went either way. I thought we grinded out sets three and four. I don't know if we brought our absolute top game today, but gritty competitors find a way to win one point at a time. It wasn't the prettiest match, but I liked the team's response to a tough first set."
Leaders
In just her third game back from injury, Thompson led the Chippewas in both kills and digs (18).
"(Thompson) carried a big load for us offensively," Gawlik said. "I thought she took some big swings, and some responsible swings, not always hitting the ball as hard as possible, but making EMU defend a lot of the court.
"That's what she brings to us, in a wonderful way. She makes teams defend a lot of different things against her. Her contribution on the serve receive effort, and offensively, is something that can't be understated."
Also for CMU, Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez added 12 kills and had a team-high .476 attack percentage, while Maddie Whitfield added eight kills on a .316 attack percentage in her first game back from injury. She posted four blocks, sharing team-high honors in that category with Anna Erickson.
"She's getting her legs back underneath her, and getting back into game shape," Gawlik said of Whitfield. "That long run EMU had in the first set, she got stuck out there, and didn't get a break. I thought she did a nice job of rebounding from a tough start in the first set. She hit .000 percent in the first set, but found a way to hit .316 for the game. She got better as the match went on."
CMU setters Grace Butler and Kendall Braate combined for 42 assists, while Kalina Smith, who also had eight kills, and Megan Kern each had 16 digs.
Numbers
CMU finished with an attack percentage of .186. The Chippewas attacked at a .314 rate over the final two sets after posting a .056 percentage in the first two. The Chippewas recorded 55 kills, their season high for a four-set match.
Next
CMU will play its first home game in a month on Saturday (8 p.m.) when it entertains Kent State in a MAC game at McGuirk Arena. The Golden Flashes are 7-8, 0-3.
Team Stats
CMU
EMU
Kills
56
55
Errors
22
25
Attempts
177
166
Hitting %
.192
.181
Points
66
69.5
Assists
53
55
Aces
4
3
Blocks
6
11.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
Setter/Opposite
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Setter
/ Volleyball
Opposite/Outside Hitter
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Libero
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