Central Michigan University Athletics
Sunday, November 20
Muncie, Ind.
4:30 p.m.
Central Michigan University
3
vs
0
Toledo
Photo by: Samantha Blankenship / Ball State University
Volleyball Wins MAC Tournament Opener, Faces Top-Seeded Ball State on Monday
11/20/2022 8:13:00 PM | Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. – On the opening day of the Mid-American Conference Tournament, Central Michigan needed to set the tone.
The No. 4-seeded Chippewas did, taking down fifth-seed Toledo in straight sets to advance to the semifinals at Ball State's Worthen Arena. CMU (20-10) will play the top-seeded Cardinals (23-7) on Monday (4:30 p.m.). The title match is Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
The Chippewas came topped the Rockets (18-12), 28-26, 25-22, 25-21.
"Playing in the tournament creates some butterflies and we addressed that in the locker room head on," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "We're going to have butterflies, our heart is going to be beating fast, and that's OK, it says that we're doing something that's pretty cool and we're in a big moment.
"I said, 'Let's not let the first few points define us, whatever the score was in that moment, and let the game come to us; play with composure, play with poise, and just settle into the match.'"
The Chippewas and Rockets traded blows throughout the first set, which was tied 12 times. CMU fought off point twice before scoring on a Toledo attack error to seize a 27-26 lead. A Kamryn Olson ace ended it and put the Chippewas up one set.
Set two was every bit as close with 10 ties. The Chippewas finally broke away on a kill by Anna Erickson and then a Rocket attack error that put CMU in front 23-21. Erickson and Claire Ammeraal recorded back-to-back kills to close it out and put the Chippewas up two sets.
Mid-set runs gave CMU a leg up in the third set as it led, 18-11 and then 21-13. The Rockets held on for eight of the next 11 points before Hernandez laid out the match-winner.
Erickson led the Chippewas with 13 kills on a team-high .393 hitting percentage. Hernandez finished with eight kills and six blocks. Senior middle blocker Maddie Whitfield totaled six kills and eight blocks while Ammeraal tallied 29 assists. Sophomore libero Aly Gurtiza finished with nine digs.
"I think offensively we did some nice things by being aggressive," Gawlik said. "There's no bad teams in the tournament; I said in order to go where we want to go, we're going to have to beat three really good teams."
The Chippewas swept Ball State on the MAC opening weekend, Sept. 23-24. The Cardinals lost just one match since.
"Although we beat them twice in the beginning of the year, there's a lot of growth that takes place on both sides between week one and weeks nine and 10," Gawlik said. "They've grown a lot, we've grown a lot, I think we're both different teams since then.
"(Ball State) had the opportunity to see us playing in person and we don't get that opportunity, but the one thing we do have is some momentum."
The No. 4-seeded Chippewas did, taking down fifth-seed Toledo in straight sets to advance to the semifinals at Ball State's Worthen Arena. CMU (20-10) will play the top-seeded Cardinals (23-7) on Monday (4:30 p.m.). The title match is Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
The Chippewas came topped the Rockets (18-12), 28-26, 25-22, 25-21.
"Playing in the tournament creates some butterflies and we addressed that in the locker room head on," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "We're going to have butterflies, our heart is going to be beating fast, and that's OK, it says that we're doing something that's pretty cool and we're in a big moment.
"I said, 'Let's not let the first few points define us, whatever the score was in that moment, and let the game come to us; play with composure, play with poise, and just settle into the match.'"
The Chippewas and Rockets traded blows throughout the first set, which was tied 12 times. CMU fought off point twice before scoring on a Toledo attack error to seize a 27-26 lead. A Kamryn Olson ace ended it and put the Chippewas up one set.
Set two was every bit as close with 10 ties. The Chippewas finally broke away on a kill by Anna Erickson and then a Rocket attack error that put CMU in front 23-21. Erickson and Claire Ammeraal recorded back-to-back kills to close it out and put the Chippewas up two sets.
Mid-set runs gave CMU a leg up in the third set as it led, 18-11 and then 21-13. The Rockets held on for eight of the next 11 points before Hernandez laid out the match-winner.
Erickson led the Chippewas with 13 kills on a team-high .393 hitting percentage. Hernandez finished with eight kills and six blocks. Senior middle blocker Maddie Whitfield totaled six kills and eight blocks while Ammeraal tallied 29 assists. Sophomore libero Aly Gurtiza finished with nine digs.
"I think offensively we did some nice things by being aggressive," Gawlik said. "There's no bad teams in the tournament; I said in order to go where we want to go, we're going to have to beat three really good teams."
The Chippewas swept Ball State on the MAC opening weekend, Sept. 23-24. The Cardinals lost just one match since.
"Although we beat them twice in the beginning of the year, there's a lot of growth that takes place on both sides between week one and weeks nine and 10," Gawlik said. "They've grown a lot, we've grown a lot, I think we're both different teams since then.
"(Ball State) had the opportunity to see us playing in person and we don't get that opportunity, but the one thing we do have is some momentum."
Players Mentioned
Setter
/ Volleyball
Opposite/Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
Libero/Defensive Specialist
/ Volleyball
Setter/Opposite
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
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