Central Michigan University Athletics
Sunday, November 20
Muncie, Ind.
4:30 p.m.
Central Michigan University
vs
Toledo
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
MAC Tournament Next for Volleyball
11/19/2022 10:45:00 AM | Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. – Another match, another tournament?
Hardly. This, for anybody involved in athletics, is what it's all about.
The Central Michigan volleyball team is set to open the Mid-American Conference Tournament on Sunday (4:30 p.m.) against Toledo. The winner advances to semifinals on Monday against top-seed Ball State, the tournament host.
The Chippewas are 19-10 and finished 12-6 in MAC play, earning the No. 4 seed in the tournament. Fifth-seeded Toledo is 18-11 and finished 11-7 in the league. CMU and Toledo split their two regular season matches. CMU swept two matches from Ball State, which finished 15-3 in conference matches.
The other half of the six-team tournament bracket features No. 2-seed Bowling Green, No. 3 Ohio and No. 6 Northern Illinois. The title match is set for Tuesday. The tournament champion earns a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
"Yeah, there is a little bit of stress of playing well with the lights on, but that's what we want," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "You try to play it like it's any other game. It's not, but I think that when you channel that opportunity, you've got a better chance of really embracing that moment instead of shying away from it or being overwhelmed by it."
The Chippewas are perhaps playing their best volleyball at the perfect time. They won eight of their last 10 matches, five those 3-0 sweeps.
Four Chippewas earned All-MAC honors, led by first teamers Mallory Hernandez and Claire Ammeraal. Hernandez, an outside hitter, is third in the conference with 3.57 kills per set; Ammeraal is seventh in the league with 7.77 assists per set.
The CMU lineup also features libero Aly Gurtiza, a second-team all-league pick, and outside hitter Natalia Rejment, who earned a spot on the league all-freshman squad along with Ammeraal.
While that quartet received the individual accolades from the conference, CMU has gotten significant across-the-board contributions from myriad sources, including middle blocker Maddie Whitfield, who shared the league lead with 127 blocks. Middle blocker Elly Medendorp enters the tournament with 109 blocks.
CMU is the MAC's most-effective blocking team with a league-best 260.5 blocks on the season.
"The strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack," Gawlik said in paraphrasing a famous line from novelist Rudyard Kipling. "And I feel like that's kind of where we're at. When we share the load, I think we're tough to beat."
Hardly. This, for anybody involved in athletics, is what it's all about.
The Central Michigan volleyball team is set to open the Mid-American Conference Tournament on Sunday (4:30 p.m.) against Toledo. The winner advances to semifinals on Monday against top-seed Ball State, the tournament host.
The Chippewas are 19-10 and finished 12-6 in MAC play, earning the No. 4 seed in the tournament. Fifth-seeded Toledo is 18-11 and finished 11-7 in the league. CMU and Toledo split their two regular season matches. CMU swept two matches from Ball State, which finished 15-3 in conference matches.
The other half of the six-team tournament bracket features No. 2-seed Bowling Green, No. 3 Ohio and No. 6 Northern Illinois. The title match is set for Tuesday. The tournament champion earns a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
"Yeah, there is a little bit of stress of playing well with the lights on, but that's what we want," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "You try to play it like it's any other game. It's not, but I think that when you channel that opportunity, you've got a better chance of really embracing that moment instead of shying away from it or being overwhelmed by it."
The Chippewas are perhaps playing their best volleyball at the perfect time. They won eight of their last 10 matches, five those 3-0 sweeps.
Four Chippewas earned All-MAC honors, led by first teamers Mallory Hernandez and Claire Ammeraal. Hernandez, an outside hitter, is third in the conference with 3.57 kills per set; Ammeraal is seventh in the league with 7.77 assists per set.
The CMU lineup also features libero Aly Gurtiza, a second-team all-league pick, and outside hitter Natalia Rejment, who earned a spot on the league all-freshman squad along with Ammeraal.
While that quartet received the individual accolades from the conference, CMU has gotten significant across-the-board contributions from myriad sources, including middle blocker Maddie Whitfield, who shared the league lead with 127 blocks. Middle blocker Elly Medendorp enters the tournament with 109 blocks.
CMU is the MAC's most-effective blocking team with a league-best 260.5 blocks on the season.
"The strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack," Gawlik said in paraphrasing a famous line from novelist Rudyard Kipling. "And I feel like that's kind of where we're at. When we share the load, I think we're tough to beat."
Players Mentioned
Setter
/ Volleyball
Libero/Defensive Specialist
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
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