Friday, September 13
Chicago, IL
8 p.m.
Central Michigan University
10-2
1
at
3
DePaul
8-5
1
2
3
4
F
Central Mich.
23
33
25
19
1
DePaul
25
35
18
25
3
Photo by: Allissa Rusco
Volleyball Falls In Four In Opener At DePaul Invitational
9/13/2019 11:42:00 PM | Volleyball
CMU slated to play two matches on Saturday
CHICAGO -- The Central Michigan volleyball team dropped its first match of the DePaul Invitational to tournament host DePaul in four sets on Friday.
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The Blue Demons took the first two sets, 25-23, 35-33, and the fourth, 25-19. CMU won the third set, 25-18. CMU is 5-2; DePaul, 6-1.
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How It Happened
After dropping set one by two points and then falling in a marathon second set, CMU bounced back to win the third, keeping alive the match and its hopes of a comeback. However DePaul took the fourth set to end the match.
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"I think it was pretty evenly matched," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "I liked how our team responded when our back was against the wall. We had to fend off a couple of set points. We had some big-time players step up and make some aggressive swings, and I like that, but we ended up on the short end of the stick. If set two ended up going our way, it would have set a tone for the rest of the match."
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Leaders
Kalina Smith and Megan Sivertsen led the Chippewas in kills, setter Kendall Braate paced CMU in assists, and Megan Kern was the leader on defense. Official statistics were not immediately available.
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Coach Gawlik:
"When we were playing well, our first-ball contact was really good," he said. "Our passing and our defensive touch was good, giving our setters some options. When things weren't going our way, I think it was a product of not necessarily giving our setters any options to run our offense.
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"I thought there were far too many plays where one hitter was an attacker, instead of (making the opposing blockers) have to make a decision on where we were going. Overall, I think we played competitively, but we're going to have to play more fundamentally sound volleyball to have the success we want to have tomorrow and beyond."
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Next
CMU will play in a doubleheader on Saturday to finish the tournament. The Chippewas take on Valparaiso (11 a.m.), and then close the tournament against Holy Cross (5:30 p.m.)
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The Blue Demons took the first two sets, 25-23, 35-33, and the fourth, 25-19. CMU won the third set, 25-18. CMU is 5-2; DePaul, 6-1.
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How It Happened
After dropping set one by two points and then falling in a marathon second set, CMU bounced back to win the third, keeping alive the match and its hopes of a comeback. However DePaul took the fourth set to end the match.
Â
"I think it was pretty evenly matched," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "I liked how our team responded when our back was against the wall. We had to fend off a couple of set points. We had some big-time players step up and make some aggressive swings, and I like that, but we ended up on the short end of the stick. If set two ended up going our way, it would have set a tone for the rest of the match."
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Leaders
Kalina Smith and Megan Sivertsen led the Chippewas in kills, setter Kendall Braate paced CMU in assists, and Megan Kern was the leader on defense. Official statistics were not immediately available.
Â
Coach Gawlik:
"When we were playing well, our first-ball contact was really good," he said. "Our passing and our defensive touch was good, giving our setters some options. When things weren't going our way, I think it was a product of not necessarily giving our setters any options to run our offense.
Â
"I thought there were far too many plays where one hitter was an attacker, instead of (making the opposing blockers) have to make a decision on where we were going. Overall, I think we played competitively, but we're going to have to play more fundamentally sound volleyball to have the success we want to have tomorrow and beyond."
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Next
CMU will play in a doubleheader on Saturday to finish the tournament. The Chippewas take on Valparaiso (11 a.m.), and then close the tournament against Holy Cross (5:30 p.m.)
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Team Stats
CMU
DePaul
Kills
53
71
Errors
18
28
Attempts
145
163
Hitting %
.241
.264
Points
67
80
Assists
50
67
Aces
2
2
Blocks
12
7
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
21
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
Setter/Opposite
/ Volleyball
Libero
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