Central Michigan University Athletics
Saturday, November 23
Bowling Green, OH
7:00 p.m.
Central Michigan University
vs
Bowling Green
Photo by: Benjamin Suddendorf
Gawlik, Chippewas Eye MAC Tournament Title
11/22/2019 5:10:00 PM | Volleyball
No. 2-seeded CMU opens on Saturday night against Bowling Green
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – History? Very little. Precedence? Not much of that either.
The Central Michigan volleyball team finds itself in uncharted territory this weekend as it enters the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Bowling Green as the No. 2 seed after winning a share of the MAC West Division title, the program's first such crown since 2003.
It's the crescendo – but not the end, the Chippewas would hope – of a remarkable turnaround for a program that finished 7-21 a year ago and had, with few exceptions, been at or near the bottom of the MAC in the recent past.
The Chippewas have flipped the record at 21-7 overall and finished 11-5 MAC, sharing the West crown with Ball State.
CMU last won the MAC Tournament in 2011 and has made the tourney field just once (2017) since. The Chippewas had a chance to win the overall MAC title last weekend, but fell to Ball State in their regular-season finale.
Instead, Miami (Ohio) claimed the title and with it, the No. 1 seed in the tournament.
"To turn things around and go from a team that didn't make the MAC Tournament a year ago and went 7-21 to being in a position to win the league is, I think, incredible in its own right," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "Finding a way to win when there are expectations is challenging and I think it is more challenging than people think."
The top two seeds in the tournament earned a double bye, meaning the Chippewas will play a semifinal match on Saturday (7 p.m.) against No. 3 seed Bowling Green.
Miami, on the other side of the bracket, is scheduled to play No. 4 Ball State at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
The championship match is set for 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. The winner advances to the NCAA Tournament.
Certainly, it has been an astonishing season for Gawlik and his Chippewas. Their 21 wins are the most by a Chippewa team since the 2007 squad won 22.
Gawlik is in his fourth year in charge of the program and CMU's success has certainly not come over night.
It has taken a pragmatic approach beginning with solid recruiting classes that have included the likes of setter Grace Butler; outside hitter Kalina Smith; middle blockers Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez and Megan Siversten; and middle hitters Savannah Thompson and Madison Whitfield; among others. The lone holdover from the pre-Gawlik days is senior libero Megan Kern.
The Chippewas won 11 matches in Gawlik's first season, 2016, and then posted 15 victories in 2017 and made the MAC Tournament. They took a step back to seven wins a year ago.
Learning how to win, and accepting roles, have been parts of the growth process, Gawlik said. Managing expectations as the Chippewas have improved has also become a priority.
None of it comes easily, he added.
"I think until you're in that moment, it is hard to be successful at that moment," he said. "We were in that moment a couple of times and we didn't find success in it every time."
The Chippewas went into the penultimate weekend needing just one win to clinch at least a West title share. They dropped both of their matches that weekend, the first to Eastern Michigan and the second to Ohio. They played the entire weekend without an injured Braate, who shares the setting duties with Butler.
"We don't need everything from somebody, but we need something from everybody," Gawlik said. "We have a lot of people who play for us on a regular basis. How can you contribute? Whether you are holding a clipboard or whether you're taping ankles or you're on the court trying to score the match point. Everybody's got a role that is really valuable and we can't let anybody take a night off, it's not just the people on the court but all of us."
The Chippewas finally clinched their divisional title share with a comeback win over Toledo before falling to Ball State the following night, a result that left them in a tie with the Cardinals for the divisional crown.
Had the Chippewas beaten Ball State, they would have won the West crown outright and shared the overall title with Miami. That result may ultimately prove motivational, Gawlik said.
"We played a really good Ball State squad and didn't find the win, but I loved the way we played and I think we are in a really good striking spot as the 2 seed," he said. "Maybe it relieves a little bit of that pressure as the 1 seed; we would've taken it, it was something that we would've loved to have, but I think in some ways it puts the chip back on our shoulder, so to say that we have something to prove."
The Central Michigan volleyball team finds itself in uncharted territory this weekend as it enters the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Bowling Green as the No. 2 seed after winning a share of the MAC West Division title, the program's first such crown since 2003.
It's the crescendo – but not the end, the Chippewas would hope – of a remarkable turnaround for a program that finished 7-21 a year ago and had, with few exceptions, been at or near the bottom of the MAC in the recent past.
The Chippewas have flipped the record at 21-7 overall and finished 11-5 MAC, sharing the West crown with Ball State.
CMU last won the MAC Tournament in 2011 and has made the tourney field just once (2017) since. The Chippewas had a chance to win the overall MAC title last weekend, but fell to Ball State in their regular-season finale.
Instead, Miami (Ohio) claimed the title and with it, the No. 1 seed in the tournament.
"To turn things around and go from a team that didn't make the MAC Tournament a year ago and went 7-21 to being in a position to win the league is, I think, incredible in its own right," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "Finding a way to win when there are expectations is challenging and I think it is more challenging than people think."
The top two seeds in the tournament earned a double bye, meaning the Chippewas will play a semifinal match on Saturday (7 p.m.) against No. 3 seed Bowling Green.
Miami, on the other side of the bracket, is scheduled to play No. 4 Ball State at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
The championship match is set for 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. The winner advances to the NCAA Tournament.
Certainly, it has been an astonishing season for Gawlik and his Chippewas. Their 21 wins are the most by a Chippewa team since the 2007 squad won 22.
Gawlik is in his fourth year in charge of the program and CMU's success has certainly not come over night.
It has taken a pragmatic approach beginning with solid recruiting classes that have included the likes of setter Grace Butler; outside hitter Kalina Smith; middle blockers Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez and Megan Siversten; and middle hitters Savannah Thompson and Madison Whitfield; among others. The lone holdover from the pre-Gawlik days is senior libero Megan Kern.
The Chippewas won 11 matches in Gawlik's first season, 2016, and then posted 15 victories in 2017 and made the MAC Tournament. They took a step back to seven wins a year ago.
Learning how to win, and accepting roles, have been parts of the growth process, Gawlik said. Managing expectations as the Chippewas have improved has also become a priority.
None of it comes easily, he added.
"I think until you're in that moment, it is hard to be successful at that moment," he said. "We were in that moment a couple of times and we didn't find success in it every time."
The Chippewas went into the penultimate weekend needing just one win to clinch at least a West title share. They dropped both of their matches that weekend, the first to Eastern Michigan and the second to Ohio. They played the entire weekend without an injured Braate, who shares the setting duties with Butler.
"We don't need everything from somebody, but we need something from everybody," Gawlik said. "We have a lot of people who play for us on a regular basis. How can you contribute? Whether you are holding a clipboard or whether you're taping ankles or you're on the court trying to score the match point. Everybody's got a role that is really valuable and we can't let anybody take a night off, it's not just the people on the court but all of us."
The Chippewas finally clinched their divisional title share with a comeback win over Toledo before falling to Ball State the following night, a result that left them in a tie with the Cardinals for the divisional crown.
Had the Chippewas beaten Ball State, they would have won the West crown outright and shared the overall title with Miami. That result may ultimately prove motivational, Gawlik said.
"We played a really good Ball State squad and didn't find the win, but I loved the way we played and I think we are in a really good striking spot as the 2 seed," he said. "Maybe it relieves a little bit of that pressure as the 1 seed; we would've taken it, it was something that we would've loved to have, but I think in some ways it puts the chip back on our shoulder, so to say that we have something to prove."
Players Mentioned
Setter
/ Volleyball
Libero
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
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