Chippewa Volleyball Starts 2-0 At Youngstown State

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- The Central Michigan volleyball team opened the Youngstown State Red & White Invitational on Friday with wins over Eastern Illinois and over Robert Morris.

CMU (9-2) won the final three sets to defeat Eastern Illinois in five, and then swept the Colonials in three straight.

The Chippewas are scheduled to close the tournament on Saturday (2 p.m.) against Youngstown State.

Vs. Eastern Illinois
The Chippewas made a dramatic comeback to win the final three sets 25-20, 25-17, 15-13 in topping Eastern Illinois. The Panthers (0-11) won the first two sets, 25-22, 25-19.

CMU finished with a .164 hitting percentage, compared to EIU's .158.

Kalina Smith and Anna Erickson led CMU in kills with 11 each, while Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez added 10. Megan Sivertsen finished with nine kills, and led CMU with a .304 hitting percentage.

Kendall Braate led CMU with 26 assists, while Grace Butler added 16. Megan Kern led the Chippewas with 37 digs.

"I don't think that we played well right out of the gate," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "Our first-ball contact wasn't where we wanted it to be. We were giving away a lot of free balls, we weren't being very terminal with our swings, and it cost us."

The Chippewas shifted their mindset and focus for the third set, and turned the match around, Gawlik said.

"We tightened the screws a little bit and won a set that was kind of close," he said. "In set four, Smith had a pretty good service run for us, it really changed the tempo of the match. We started stringing points together by running back to the service line and pushing the pace.

"Coming back from down 0-2 is challenging against anybody that you're playing because it's mentally a difficult thing to separate those first two sets from what could happen in the following sets."

Vs. Robert Morris
CMU hit .244 in defeating the Colonials, 26-24, 25-20, 25-17.

Robert Morris (10-2) entered the tournament unbeaten. The Colonials dropped their tournament opener to the host Penguins before falling later on Friday to CMU.

Smith and Erickson led CMU in kills again with 21 and 10, respectively. Erickson had a .391 hitting percentage, while Smith hit at .350. Braate posted a team-best 29 assists, while Butler finished with 17. Kern led in digs with 24.

"We kept the game plan pretty simple because of the quick turnaround from the (Eastern Illinois) game," Gawlik said. "We focused on what we can do rather than stopping them or watching a ton of video.

"They had the lead for most of set one, and we hung around, and we ended up stealing the set. That was big for momentum. I think our team knew we weren't clicking on all cylinders for the first set, and when you put that one in the bank, we could turn it up a notch, and play our game in set two and three."

Freshman middle blocker Korie Otto came off the bench and made a big impact in the win, Gawlik said.

"She came off the bench into a role that she wasn't familiar with and she was a spark for us," he said. "It's a really good sign that when someone on the bench that doesn't see a lot of regular playing time, they get an opportunity to play, and they step up to the plate and do a good job. I was pleased with her performance."

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Team Stats

Kalina Smith

Anna Erickson

Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez

Megan Sivertsen

Players Mentioned

Kendall Braate

Grace Butler

Anna Erickson

Megan Kern

Korie Otto

Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez

Megan Sivertsen

Kalina Smith