Volleyball Completes Weekend Sweep

Sunday, October 23

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

3 p.m.

Central Michigan University

14-8,7-4MAC

Miami (Ohio)

6-16,1-10MAC

Miami (OH)

Central Mich.

Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw

10/23/2022 7:09:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Katherine Schultz, CMUChippewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – When the energy is high in McGuirk Arena, there's no stopping Central Michigan's momentum.

The CMU volleyball team finished with a season-high .463 hitting percentage on Sunday as the Chippewas defeated Miami (Ohio) in straight sets, 25-10, 25-8, 25-21, in a Mid-American Conference match.

With seven MAC games left, CMU is 14-8, 7-4. Miami is 6-16, 1-10. The Chippewas are in a three-way tie for second in the MAC West and are tied for fourth place overall in the league. The top six teams in the final standings earn a berth to the league tournament.

"I hope everybody sees what happens when we all contribute," said CMU coach Mike Gawlik, whose team is 5-1 at home this season, all against league foes. "I feel like we've had really good contributions over the last three matches when we're winning, and a lot of contributions from a lot of different people.

"I just think there's such good team elements to all of these wins, and (to hit .460) in MAC play is really aggressive."

The Chippewas made a 13-point run to break free from an 8-8 tie in dominating the first set, in which Mallory Hernandez and Anna Erickson tallied six kills apiece.

Hernandez posted four more kills and CMU was every bit as dominant in the second set, hitting .464 while holding Miami to .000.

The RedHawks took their first timeout of the final set while trailing, 9-2, and then scored seven of the next nine points to knot the set, 11-11.

Miami briefly led, 20-18, but a Hernandez kill, a RedHawk service error, and Aly Gurtiza's fourth ace of the match put the Chippewas back in front, 21-18. CMU scored four of the final five points for the sweep.

Hernandez led the Chippewas with 17 kills and a career-high .810 hitting percentage.

Anna Erickson finished with nine kills on a .381 hitting percentage and Elly Medendorp posted a .714 hitting percentage with five kills.

Maddie Whitfield finished with five kills, two block assists and one solo block, which was the 78^th of her career. That is the most by a Chippewa during the rally-scoring era (2000 season and beyond."

Freshman setter Claire Ammeraal contributed 32 assists and four kills while Gurtiza finished with 16 digs and four service aces.

The Chippewas are scheduled to play a pair of league road matches, the first at Akron on Friday, Oct. 28 (6 p.m.) and then at Buffalo on Saturday, Oct. 29 (4 p.m.). The Zips are 5-17, 2-9 MAC after falling in four sets to Ohio on Saturday.