Saturday, September 28
Kalamazoo, MI
5:00 p.m.
Central Michigan University
12-2, 2-0MAC
3
at
0
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Western Michigan
10-4, 1-1MAC
1
2
3
F
Central Michigan
26
25
25
3
Western Michigan
24
19
14
0
Photo by: Allissa Rusco
Chippewas Complete Perfect MAC Weekend With Sweep
9/28/2019 7:53:00 PM | Volleyball
CMU volleyball runs win streak to 7
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – An outstanding start to the Mid-American Conference schedule for the Central Michigan volleyball team.
The Chippewas defeated rival Western Michigan in straight sets on Saturday, completing a 2-0 league-opening weekend. CMU defeated Northern Illinois in four sets on Friday night.
The Chippewas ran their win streak to seven, improving to 12-2 and 2-0 MAC, with a 26-24, 25-19, 25-14 win over the Broncos (10-4, 1-1).
How It Happened
CMU overcame a 19-14 deficit to close the first set on a 12-6 spurt, a result that gave the Chippewas a shot of momentum that they rode for the remainder of the match. They trailed only briefly, and very early, in each of the final two sets.
"We realized that the first set was close," said CMU sophomore middle blocker Megan Sivertsen, who had a kill to put the Chippewas up 25-24 in the first set, and then provided the final point of the set with a block, "but it didn't need to be that close, and we could keep (being aggressive). Our good was better than their good, so we knew we could (come back)."
CMU coach Mike Gawlik said the Chippewas found a way to rally and win the first set, and from there, they picked up steam.
"I thought it was a real good match for us from start to finish," he said. "We started maybe a little bit slower than we wanted to, and we were chasing some points there in set one. We found a way to steal an opportunity to be in a position to win set one, and we came up with a big block to win the set.
"We upped our service pressure, that allowed us to take a little bit of a deep breath after we stole set one. I thought our defensive pressure was really outstanding. I don't think it was any one person, but I thought everybody did a good job."
Leaders
Kalina Smith led CMU win kills with 10, while Sivertsen added nine with a hitting percentage of .571. Sivertsen finished with a season-high seven blocks.
Kendall Braate led the Chippewas in assists with 17, and Grace Butler added 13. Megan Kern had 19 digs, while Savannah Thompson finished with 14 digs, seven kills and a hitting percentage of .333.
Key Stat
The Chippewas posted a .235 hitting percentage in the match, while Western finished at .089.
Fan Support
Saturday's match followed the CMU-Western football game. A number of CMU fans made the short walk from Waldo Stadium to the Broncos' University Arena to show support for the Chippewa volleyball team.
"I always say, 'You're someone's first opportunity to see women's volleyball at the collegiate level,'" Gawlik said. "I feel like we have a special group, who can do some fun things. I hope that those fans who saw us play today can join us in Ypsilanti (against Eastern Michigan) on Thursday, or after come join us when we're home for a good stretch of time.
"We appreciate their support. It was a neat pick-me-up for Chippewa Athletics today that we could cap off a back end of a rivalry day for us. That was important to our players that we came out, not only us as a team, but us as an institution."
Next
The Chippewas go to Eastern on Thursday, Oct. 3 (7 p.m.), and then return to Mount Pleasant for a game with Kent State on Saturday, Oct. 5 (8 p.m.). Both are MAC games, and Saturday's game will follow the CMU-Eastern Michigan football game which carries a 3 p.m. kickoff at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
The Kent State game is the first of three consecutive at home for CMU, which has not played at McGuirk Arena since it hosted the Chippewa Invitational on Sept. 6-7.
The Chippewas defeated rival Western Michigan in straight sets on Saturday, completing a 2-0 league-opening weekend. CMU defeated Northern Illinois in four sets on Friday night.
The Chippewas ran their win streak to seven, improving to 12-2 and 2-0 MAC, with a 26-24, 25-19, 25-14 win over the Broncos (10-4, 1-1).
How It Happened
CMU overcame a 19-14 deficit to close the first set on a 12-6 spurt, a result that gave the Chippewas a shot of momentum that they rode for the remainder of the match. They trailed only briefly, and very early, in each of the final two sets.
"We realized that the first set was close," said CMU sophomore middle blocker Megan Sivertsen, who had a kill to put the Chippewas up 25-24 in the first set, and then provided the final point of the set with a block, "but it didn't need to be that close, and we could keep (being aggressive). Our good was better than their good, so we knew we could (come back)."
CMU coach Mike Gawlik said the Chippewas found a way to rally and win the first set, and from there, they picked up steam.
"I thought it was a real good match for us from start to finish," he said. "We started maybe a little bit slower than we wanted to, and we were chasing some points there in set one. We found a way to steal an opportunity to be in a position to win set one, and we came up with a big block to win the set.
"We upped our service pressure, that allowed us to take a little bit of a deep breath after we stole set one. I thought our defensive pressure was really outstanding. I don't think it was any one person, but I thought everybody did a good job."
Leaders
Kalina Smith led CMU win kills with 10, while Sivertsen added nine with a hitting percentage of .571. Sivertsen finished with a season-high seven blocks.
Kendall Braate led the Chippewas in assists with 17, and Grace Butler added 13. Megan Kern had 19 digs, while Savannah Thompson finished with 14 digs, seven kills and a hitting percentage of .333.
Key Stat
The Chippewas posted a .235 hitting percentage in the match, while Western finished at .089.
Fan Support
Saturday's match followed the CMU-Western football game. A number of CMU fans made the short walk from Waldo Stadium to the Broncos' University Arena to show support for the Chippewa volleyball team.
"I always say, 'You're someone's first opportunity to see women's volleyball at the collegiate level,'" Gawlik said. "I feel like we have a special group, who can do some fun things. I hope that those fans who saw us play today can join us in Ypsilanti (against Eastern Michigan) on Thursday, or after come join us when we're home for a good stretch of time.
"We appreciate their support. It was a neat pick-me-up for Chippewa Athletics today that we could cap off a back end of a rivalry day for us. That was important to our players that we came out, not only us as a team, but us as an institution."
Next
The Chippewas go to Eastern on Thursday, Oct. 3 (7 p.m.), and then return to Mount Pleasant for a game with Kent State on Saturday, Oct. 5 (8 p.m.). Both are MAC games, and Saturday's game will follow the CMU-Eastern Michigan football game which carries a 3 p.m. kickoff at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
The Kent State game is the first of three consecutive at home for CMU, which has not played at McGuirk Arena since it hosted the Chippewa Invitational on Sept. 6-7.
Team Stats
CMU
WMU
Kills
45
32
Errors
17
21
Attempts
119
124
Hitting %
.235
.089
Points
56.0
40.0
Assists
41
26
Aces
1
0
Blocks
10.0
8.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
Setter/Opposite
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ Volleyball
Libero
/ VolleyballMiddle Blocker
/ VolleyballOutside Hitter
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