Chippewas Eye Volleyball Title On Home Floor

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- The Central Michigan volleyball team won its season-opening tournament last weekend in New York.

Now, the Chippewas get an opportunity to put their talents on display in front of their home fans in McGuirk Arena.

The Chippewas welcome Eastern Illinois, North Dakota State, and Illinois-Chicago for the Chippewa Invitational. The Chippewas' first tournament game is set for Friday (12:30 p.m.) against Eastern Illinois.

The Chippewas are slated to play North Dakota State on Friday (7:30 p.m.) and then close the tournament on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) against UIC.

Good Start
CMU is hoping to ride the wave of momentum it built in winning the St. Francis Brooklyn Terrier Classic last weekend. The Chippewas dropped just one set in their three matches, collecting wins over Maryland-Eastern Shore, Saint Peter's, and NJIT.

The Chippewas' Maddie Whitfield and Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez were named to the all-tournament team. Whitfield led the Chippewas in the tournament with 30 kills on a .551 attack percentage. Rosario-Martinez posted a team-high eight aces.

"I think for this weekend, we have some good matchups," said Whitfield, a sophomore middle blocker. "As long as we play our game, come out strong, and defend our home court we should be just fine."

Good Numbers
The Chippewas attacked at a .262 clip in their three matches in Brooklyn while holding their opposition to .087. The Chippewas' hitting percentage rates as the second-best among Mid-American Conference teams; their .087 opponent hitting percentage is the best among the 12 teams in the league.

The Chippewas totaled 28 aces in their three matches (10 sets) in Brooklyn. That is the most among all MAC teams.

The Opposition
Eastern Illinois, North Dakota State and UIC opened their respective seasons last weekend. The Flames went 4-0 at the Idaho Volleyball Classic. They defeated California Baptist, Cal State Fullerton, Eastern Washington, and Idaho.

Eastern Illinois is 0-3, falling to South Dakota State, Memphis, and Drake in its own Panther Invitational. North Dakota State, 1-2, defeated Toledo and then lost to Loyola-Chicago and Western Kentucky at the Toledo Blue & Gold Tournament.

Next
CMU heads to Chicago next weekend for the DePaul Invitational. They will take on the host Blue Demons on Friday, Sept. 13, and then play Valparaiso and Holy Cross on Saturday, Sept. 14.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez

Maddie Whitfield

Central Michigan University Athletics