Saturday, January 23
Athens, OH
5:30 P.M.
Central Michigan University
1-1,1-1MAC
0
at
3
Ohio
1-1,1-1MAC
1
2
3
F
Central Mich.
15
29
22
0
Ohio
25
31
25
3
Photo by: Allissa Rusco
Chippewa Volleyball Drops Finale At Ohio, Splits Opening Weekend
1/23/2021 8:49:00 PM | Volleyball
ATHENS, Ohio – The Central Michigan volleyball team closed its season-opening two-match weekend on Saturday with a three-set loss to Ohio in a Mid-American Conference match at the Bobcats' Convocation Center.
The Chippewas won the opener, which started on Friday and was completed on Saturday, in five sets. CMU and Ohio are both 1-1 overall and in the MAC.
The Chippewas entertain Kent State in their home opener on Thursday, Jan. 28 (6 p.m.) at McGuirk Arena. The teams are scheduled to play again on Friday, Jan. 29 (2 p.m.) at McGuirk.
Ohio won Saturday's second match, 25-15, 31-29, 25-22. It ended a long weekend for the Chippewas and Bobcats after their Friday match was postponed – late in the second set -- because of a power outage.
"I thought our fight was a 10 out of 10," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "We were tired, it's the beginning of the year, coming off of Christmas break, and I thought they gave us everything they had. For Ohio too, I think there were some people with some tired bodies, some tired legs. I really liked the grit and the fight that we displayed."
Savannah Thompson led the Chippewas with 18 kills and Anna Erickson added 14. Thompson also paced CMU with 12 digs and Kendall Braate had 11. Chippewa setters Grace Butler and Kamryn Olson finished with 22 and 18 assists, respectively.
The Bobcats used a 7-0 run in building a 21-12 lead in the first set; the Chippewas held set point four times in the second set before succumbing; CMU trailed 13-20 in the third set before rallying to close its deficit to two points twice, the last at 22-24.
"That first set kind of got away from us early," Gawlik said. "That second set could have gone either way and that third set we were within striking distance. I was proud of the way we went about our business; I think it will lead to wins long term. But we've got to sharpen up some things coming out of weekend No. 1."
The Chippewas, who shared the MAC West title last season and were picked to win the division in the preseason coaches poll, have plenty on which to hang their hats going forward, Gawlik said. They earned a split at Ohio, which is one of the MAC's perennial powers and features last year's MAC Player of the Year (Tia Jimerson) and MAC Setter of the Year (Vera Giacomazzi).
"Offensively we did some great things, our outsides (Erickson and Thompson), had another great match," said Gawlik, who guided CMU to its first win at Ohio since 1999 in the first match of the weekend. "Defensively that's where we need to be a little bit better. We've got to create a few more stops. Ohio's got some real offensive players, physical middles and we let them kind of get into a rhythm. We need to serve a little bit tougher to limit the number of opportunities they have to get free swings.
"It was a great test for us because I think Ohio's one of the elite teams in the league. Starting with setting the bar pretty high and it's like, (Ohio) is a team that we're going to have to go through if we want to go where we want to go.
"I don't want to call it a wakeup call because I think we played well; it was a great opportunity to test ourselves right out of the gate. If you had told me (going in) that we were going to play the way we played, I would have been pleased with that. I liked our fight. I think we've got a great future because I really like the way that we went about our business."
The Chippewas won the opener, which started on Friday and was completed on Saturday, in five sets. CMU and Ohio are both 1-1 overall and in the MAC.
The Chippewas entertain Kent State in their home opener on Thursday, Jan. 28 (6 p.m.) at McGuirk Arena. The teams are scheduled to play again on Friday, Jan. 29 (2 p.m.) at McGuirk.
Ohio won Saturday's second match, 25-15, 31-29, 25-22. It ended a long weekend for the Chippewas and Bobcats after their Friday match was postponed – late in the second set -- because of a power outage.
"I thought our fight was a 10 out of 10," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "We were tired, it's the beginning of the year, coming off of Christmas break, and I thought they gave us everything they had. For Ohio too, I think there were some people with some tired bodies, some tired legs. I really liked the grit and the fight that we displayed."
Savannah Thompson led the Chippewas with 18 kills and Anna Erickson added 14. Thompson also paced CMU with 12 digs and Kendall Braate had 11. Chippewa setters Grace Butler and Kamryn Olson finished with 22 and 18 assists, respectively.
The Bobcats used a 7-0 run in building a 21-12 lead in the first set; the Chippewas held set point four times in the second set before succumbing; CMU trailed 13-20 in the third set before rallying to close its deficit to two points twice, the last at 22-24.
"That first set kind of got away from us early," Gawlik said. "That second set could have gone either way and that third set we were within striking distance. I was proud of the way we went about our business; I think it will lead to wins long term. But we've got to sharpen up some things coming out of weekend No. 1."
The Chippewas, who shared the MAC West title last season and were picked to win the division in the preseason coaches poll, have plenty on which to hang their hats going forward, Gawlik said. They earned a split at Ohio, which is one of the MAC's perennial powers and features last year's MAC Player of the Year (Tia Jimerson) and MAC Setter of the Year (Vera Giacomazzi).
"Offensively we did some great things, our outsides (Erickson and Thompson), had another great match," said Gawlik, who guided CMU to its first win at Ohio since 1999 in the first match of the weekend. "Defensively that's where we need to be a little bit better. We've got to create a few more stops. Ohio's got some real offensive players, physical middles and we let them kind of get into a rhythm. We need to serve a little bit tougher to limit the number of opportunities they have to get free swings.
"It was a great test for us because I think Ohio's one of the elite teams in the league. Starting with setting the bar pretty high and it's like, (Ohio) is a team that we're going to have to go through if we want to go where we want to go.
"I don't want to call it a wakeup call because I think we played well; it was a great opportunity to test ourselves right out of the gate. If you had told me (going in) that we were going to play the way we played, I would have been pleased with that. I liked our fight. I think we've got a great future because I really like the way that we went about our business."
Team Stats
CMU
Ohio
Kills
48
58
Errors
15
13
Attempts
126
127
Hitting %
.262
.354
Points
53
70
Assists
43
50
Aces
0
3
Blocks
5
9
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
18
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
3
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