Friday, August 30
Brooklyn, NY
12:30 p.m.
Central Michigan University
10-2
3
vs
1
Maryland-Eastern Shore
5-10
1
2
3
4
F
UMES
15
25
22
11
1
Central Mich.
25
22
25
25
3
Chippewas Complete 3-0 Opening Weekend
8/31/2019 7:26:00 PM | Volleyball
CMU's Whitfield, Rosario-Martinez named to all-tournament team
NEW YORK -- The Central Michigan volleyball team defeated NJIT and Saint Peter's, both in straight sets, on Saturday to complete a perfect 3-0 run through the season-opening St. Francis Brooklyn Terrier Classic.
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CMU's Maddie Whitfield and Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez were named to the all-tournament team. Whitfield led CMU with 30 kills in the tournament, while Rosario-Martinez was next with 18.
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Whitfield, a sophomore middle blocker, attacked at a remarkable .551 pace, while Rosario-Martinz, a native of the Dominican Republic, finished at .394 and collected a team-best eight aces in the Chippewas' three matches.
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"Confidence is high, we're playing at a high level, and I think that even in the locker room, or even in the meeting room after the games, there are some things that we have to get better at," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "That's what the first weekend is about. It's to identify where you're strong and identify where you need to be better.
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"I don't think we were perfect this weekend and I didn't expect to be perfect. … We try to define ourselves through our improvement, not necessarily whether we win or not."
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Vs. Saint Peter's
CMU, which opened the tournament with a four-set victory over Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday, downed Saint Peter's 25-14, 25-21, 25-13 on Saturday morning.
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Sierra Gray led the Chippewas with 10 kills, while Anna Erickson had nine and Meg Siversten had eight. Meg Kern led the Chippewas' defense with 17 digs, and setter Kendall Braate posted 40 assists.
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"I thought this was a really good, full-team win," Gawlik said. "We got a lot of people some opportunities to step up and contribute. I think that's important when you're playing a long season because everybody has a little bit of an opportunity to step out on the floor and compete for the program. So even athletes who don't see a lot of starting action get the reps they need to be successful when their number is called in a more pressure situation."
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Vs. NJIT
CMU closed with a 25-12, 25-20, 25-19 win over NJIT to complete their second 3-0 start in Gawlik's four years in charge of the program.
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Maddie Whitfield had 16 kills in 20 attempts, giving her a sensational .800 hitting percentage, to lead CMU at the net. Kern finished with 17 digs, while Braate posted 38.
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"I thought this was similar to our match against Saint Peter's, not quite the exact same, but we had an opportunity to play everybody on our roster at some point," Gawlik said. "When you're in a situation where you can use your entire roster to contribute to a victory, it feels really good. It gives them justification for why they're on the squad and they can help us achieve our objectives."
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Next
CMU plays at home for the first time this season next weekend when it entertains Eastern Illinois, North Dakota State and Illinois-Chicago for the Chippewa invitational at McGurk Arena. CMU opens the tournament with a doubleheader on Friday, Sept. 6, against Eastern Illinois (12:30 p.m.) and North Dakota State (7:30 p.m.). CMU will play Illinois-Chicago on Saturday, Sept. 7 (3:30 p.m.)
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CMU's Maddie Whitfield and Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez were named to the all-tournament team. Whitfield led CMU with 30 kills in the tournament, while Rosario-Martinez was next with 18.
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Whitfield, a sophomore middle blocker, attacked at a remarkable .551 pace, while Rosario-Martinz, a native of the Dominican Republic, finished at .394 and collected a team-best eight aces in the Chippewas' three matches.
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"Confidence is high, we're playing at a high level, and I think that even in the locker room, or even in the meeting room after the games, there are some things that we have to get better at," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "That's what the first weekend is about. It's to identify where you're strong and identify where you need to be better.
Â
"I don't think we were perfect this weekend and I didn't expect to be perfect. … We try to define ourselves through our improvement, not necessarily whether we win or not."
Â
Vs. Saint Peter's
CMU, which opened the tournament with a four-set victory over Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday, downed Saint Peter's 25-14, 25-21, 25-13 on Saturday morning.
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Sierra Gray led the Chippewas with 10 kills, while Anna Erickson had nine and Meg Siversten had eight. Meg Kern led the Chippewas' defense with 17 digs, and setter Kendall Braate posted 40 assists.
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"I thought this was a really good, full-team win," Gawlik said. "We got a lot of people some opportunities to step up and contribute. I think that's important when you're playing a long season because everybody has a little bit of an opportunity to step out on the floor and compete for the program. So even athletes who don't see a lot of starting action get the reps they need to be successful when their number is called in a more pressure situation."
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Vs. NJIT
CMU closed with a 25-12, 25-20, 25-19 win over NJIT to complete their second 3-0 start in Gawlik's four years in charge of the program.
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Maddie Whitfield had 16 kills in 20 attempts, giving her a sensational .800 hitting percentage, to lead CMU at the net. Kern finished with 17 digs, while Braate posted 38.
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"I thought this was similar to our match against Saint Peter's, not quite the exact same, but we had an opportunity to play everybody on our roster at some point," Gawlik said. "When you're in a situation where you can use your entire roster to contribute to a victory, it feels really good. It gives them justification for why they're on the squad and they can help us achieve our objectives."
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Next
CMU plays at home for the first time this season next weekend when it entertains Eastern Illinois, North Dakota State and Illinois-Chicago for the Chippewa invitational at McGurk Arena. CMU opens the tournament with a doubleheader on Friday, Sept. 6, against Eastern Illinois (12:30 p.m.) and North Dakota State (7:30 p.m.). CMU will play Illinois-Chicago on Saturday, Sept. 7 (3:30 p.m.)
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Team Stats
UMES
CMU
Kills
34
42
Errors
26
17
Attempts
107
99
Hitting %
.075
.253
Points
50
61
Assists
33
41
Aces
10
13
Blocks
6
6
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
7
Aces
4
Blocks
2
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
3
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