Central Michigan University Athletics
Friday, September 6
Mount Pleasant, MI
12:30 p.m.
Central Michigan University
10-2
3
vs
0
Eastern Illinois
1-10
1
2
3
F
Eastern Ill.
20
21
21
0
Central Mich.
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Allissa Rusco
Chippewas Tested, Remain Unbeaten
9/6/2019 11:49:00 PM | Volleyball
CMU pulls out five-set win over North Dakota State
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Tested, and still unbeaten.
The Central Michigan volleyball team outlasted North Dakota State in five sets on Friday night in its second match of the Chippewa Invitational at McGuirk Arena. CMU opened the tourney with a straight-sets win over Eastern Illinois.
The Chippewas (5-0) close the invitational on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) against Illinois-Chicago.
The tournament is CMU's second of the season. The Chippewas won the St. Francis Brooklyn Terrier Classic last weekend, dropping just one set in sweeping their three matches.
They won the first, third and fifth sets against the Bison on Friday, claiming a 25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 14-25, 15-12 victory.
"I think we had a pretty good performance from everyone on our roster tonight," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "Maybe we didn't get as many people in as we did last week, but I don't think that's necessarily a direct correlation to their ability level.
"We made a couple of adjustments throughout the match, with people coming off the bench, contributing and filling their role. That's one of the things I really love about coaching this group; it's about us, it's not about any one individual. I feel like when you have a selfless attitude on your team, special things can happen."
Vs. North Dakota State
Sophomore outside hitter Sierra Gray provided a much-needed spark for the Chippewas against North Dakota State, coming off the bench to deliver nine kills, three of which came consecutively at the end of the third set.
"The thing we love about Gray is she has one speed, and it's full speed," Gawlik said. "It's 100 miles per hour. When we made that switch, I felt like we needed a little bit of a spark. The one thing I know about Gray is she's going to hit the heck out of (the ball), and I thought she did exactly what we wanted her to do, which is to be aggressive."
CMU trailed, 11-9, in the fifth set and then went on a 6-1 run to secure the set and the match.
"We had to ignore the score, and work on getting to that next point," CMU sophomore setter Kendall Braate said, adding the message was "Don't worry about them being two points up; let's get to 10, and then we'll worry about tying it. We had to worry about our side of the net."
Kalina Smith led CMU with 13 kills, while Maddie Whitfield had 10. Braate posted a season-high 43 assists, while Meg Kern led the Chippewa defense with 21 digs.
Vs. Eastern Illinois
Smith finished with 13 kills and the Chippewas finished with a .301 attack percentage in downing the Panthers, 25-20, 25-21, 25-21. CMU trailed just twice in the entire match, 5-4 and then 6-5, in the second set.
Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez added nine kills and finished the match with a .571 hitting percentage. Braate had 35 assists, while Kern posted 15 digs.
Maturity
"I feel like one area our team has grown a lot in the last year or two years since I've been in the program, is the constant fight and the constant stepping on the gas pedal," said Smith, a junior outside hitter whose 13 kills in both of Friday's matches were her season high. "We have become a lot more patient, so when teams do come back, it's fine and we don't overthink it. That allows us to put our foot back on the gas pedal, and that's what's made us so successful."
Next
Illinois-Chicago (5-1) opened the tournament on Friday with a five-set loss to North Dakota State. The Bison (2-3) won the final three sets to pull out the victory and hand UIC its first loss of the season.
North Dakota State and Eastern Illinois (0-5) are scheduled to play on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Central Michigan volleyball team outlasted North Dakota State in five sets on Friday night in its second match of the Chippewa Invitational at McGuirk Arena. CMU opened the tourney with a straight-sets win over Eastern Illinois.
The Chippewas (5-0) close the invitational on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) against Illinois-Chicago.
The tournament is CMU's second of the season. The Chippewas won the St. Francis Brooklyn Terrier Classic last weekend, dropping just one set in sweeping their three matches.
They won the first, third and fifth sets against the Bison on Friday, claiming a 25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 14-25, 15-12 victory.
"I think we had a pretty good performance from everyone on our roster tonight," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "Maybe we didn't get as many people in as we did last week, but I don't think that's necessarily a direct correlation to their ability level.
"We made a couple of adjustments throughout the match, with people coming off the bench, contributing and filling their role. That's one of the things I really love about coaching this group; it's about us, it's not about any one individual. I feel like when you have a selfless attitude on your team, special things can happen."
Vs. North Dakota State
Sophomore outside hitter Sierra Gray provided a much-needed spark for the Chippewas against North Dakota State, coming off the bench to deliver nine kills, three of which came consecutively at the end of the third set.
"The thing we love about Gray is she has one speed, and it's full speed," Gawlik said. "It's 100 miles per hour. When we made that switch, I felt like we needed a little bit of a spark. The one thing I know about Gray is she's going to hit the heck out of (the ball), and I thought she did exactly what we wanted her to do, which is to be aggressive."
CMU trailed, 11-9, in the fifth set and then went on a 6-1 run to secure the set and the match.
"We had to ignore the score, and work on getting to that next point," CMU sophomore setter Kendall Braate said, adding the message was "Don't worry about them being two points up; let's get to 10, and then we'll worry about tying it. We had to worry about our side of the net."
Kalina Smith led CMU with 13 kills, while Maddie Whitfield had 10. Braate posted a season-high 43 assists, while Meg Kern led the Chippewa defense with 21 digs.
Vs. Eastern Illinois
Smith finished with 13 kills and the Chippewas finished with a .301 attack percentage in downing the Panthers, 25-20, 25-21, 25-21. CMU trailed just twice in the entire match, 5-4 and then 6-5, in the second set.
Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez added nine kills and finished the match with a .571 hitting percentage. Braate had 35 assists, while Kern posted 15 digs.
Maturity
"I feel like one area our team has grown a lot in the last year or two years since I've been in the program, is the constant fight and the constant stepping on the gas pedal," said Smith, a junior outside hitter whose 13 kills in both of Friday's matches were her season high. "We have become a lot more patient, so when teams do come back, it's fine and we don't overthink it. That allows us to put our foot back on the gas pedal, and that's what's made us so successful."
Next
Illinois-Chicago (5-1) opened the tournament on Friday with a five-set loss to North Dakota State. The Bison (2-3) won the final three sets to pull out the victory and hand UIC its first loss of the season.
North Dakota State and Eastern Illinois (0-5) are scheduled to play on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Team Stats
EIU
CMU
Kills
33
42
Errors
20
11
Attempts
111
103
Hitting %
.117
.301
Points
43
50
Assists
31
39
Aces
7
3
Blocks
3
5
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
Setter/Opposite
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
/ VolleyballMiddle Blocker
/ VolleyballOutside Hitter
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
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