Volleyball Rebounds, Tops Ball State In 4 Sets

Saturday, March 20

Muncie, IN

1 P.M.

Central Michigan University

10-9,10-9MAC

Ball State

8-10,8-10MAC

Central Mich.

Ball St.

Freshman Elly Medenforp had 10 kills and seven blocks, both career highs, on Saturday in CMU's win at Ball State.

Photo by: Keara Chaperon '22

3/20/2021 5:40:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

MUNCIE, Ind. – A must-win. And everybody stepped up.

Savannah Thompson had 21 kills to lead four Chippewas in double figures on Saturday as CMU took a 25-20, 21-25, 25-22, 25-20 Mid-American Conference volleyball victory from Ball State at the Cardinals' Worthen Arena.

The win lifted CMU to 10-9 and kept it squarely in the mix for one of four league-tournament berths with just three regular-season matches to go. It was also a good rebound after CMU's five-set loss to the Cardinals on Friday.

"We came out of (Friday) night talking about our effort being unwavering and our belief being unwavering," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "That was a focus of ours throughout the game. Whether we won the last rally or lost the last rally, it was 'How do we win the next rally 1-0?' I thought we did a really good job of that."

Sharing the Load
Anna Erickson had 12 kills and Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez and Elly Medendorp finished with 10 each. Kendall Braate collected 28 digs, leading five Chippewas who reached double digits in that category.

"When everybody contributes nobody feels overwhelmed and I think we did a really good job of that today, getting some productivity out of multiple people so that nobody felt like they had to kill 40 balls for us to win," Gawlik said. "Our ability to play team defense was better today than it was (Friday).

"When you have five people digging double-digit balls it means you're being accountable when the ball comes your way. Braate, 28 digs in four sets, that's seven a set; that's a fairly high number."

Another Freshman Steps Up
The 10 kills for Medendorp, a freshman, were a career high. She also had seven of the Chippewas' 11 blocks. That was also a career best.

Her performance came one day after another CMU freshman, Kamryn Olson, posted a rare triple-double.

"We had a big performance from a freshman (Friday) night in Kam Olson, and we had another freshman step up today and when we have young kids who can do that, I think that's really, really good," Gawlik said.

Thompson's Time
Thompson, a junior, had eight of her 21 kills in the fourth and final set. Three came during a 6-0 Chippewa spurt to open the set, and she recorded kills on the final two points of the match.

"She was pretty terminal," Gawlik said. "Twenty-one kills on 50 attempts is a pretty high kill percentage. She's our captain and she's a big leader for us in the front row and she stepped up in some big moments."

On the Block
Ball State recorded 18 blocks in the match, the second-highest total by a MAC team this season. Still, the Chippewas were able to overcome.

"They blocked 18 balls in four sets, which is a crazy high number, but what I liked was our ability to rebound from that," Gawlik said. "Those can be emotional points that go in the favor of the opponent and so when you're staying the course and you're going on to the next rally and you're not carrying that baggage with you, I think it's a really great show of the goal we had of being able to re-set and just play the next point.

"We've got to see the block better and we can't get blocked that much, but our ability to rebound from that and keep playing aggressively is a good sign of maturity."

Next
The Chippewas go to Eastern Michigan on Tuesday, March 23 (6 p.m.). The Eagles (7-9) are one of those teams that is battling with CMU for a spot in the league tournament. EMU topped the Chippewas in five sets last week at McGuirk Arena.