Central Michigan University Athletics
Friday, November 4
DeKalb, Ill.
7 p.m. (ET)
Central Michigan University
16-9,9-5MAC
3
at
1
Northern Illinois
14-10,7-7MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Central Mich.
27
25
21
26
3
NIU
25
18
25
24
1
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
Volleyball Wins 'Gritty' 4-Setter at NIU
11/4/2022 11:42:00 PM | Volleyball
DEKALB, Ill. – As the chase for a spot in the Mid-American Conference Tournament continues, Central Michigan made the right moves and bested Northern Illinois in four sets on Friday in the opener of a two-match weekend at the Huskies' Victor E. Court.
The teams are set to conclude the weekend on Saturday (3 p.m.).
The Chippewas moved to 2-0 on the match, winning the first two sets, 27-25 and 25-18. A competitive third set went to the Huskies, 25-21, before CMU rallied from an eight-point deficit to take the finale, 26-24.
At 16-9 overall and 9-5 in the league, CMU is tied for fourth in the Mid-American Conference with four matches to play. The top six teams make the league tournament. NIU is 14-10, 7-7.
"Tonight was a really gutsy and gritty win for our program," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "We were chasing some points in enemy territory in the fourth set. We put ourselves in a position to win set one, which was really close; we won by two points in set one and we won by two points in set four.
"Those are two sets that could go either way. They take some grit and big moments, and we had some players that stepped up in some big moments for us."
Freshman setter Claire Ammeraal paved the way for CMU with her second triple-double of the season. She finished with 10 kills on 19 attempts for a team-high .474 hitting percentage and also had 36 assists and 21 digs.
Down 23-19 in the first set, CMU stepped on the gas to take eight of the final 10 points to win the set and set the tone.
The Chippewas never trailed in a dominant second set, hitting.381, their best of the night. NIU scored four straight points to seize a 21-17 lead in the third set; CMU crept back to 21-20 but could get no closer as the Huskies scored four of the final five points.
The Chippewas overcame a 22-14 deficit in the dramatic fourth set, scoring nine of the next 10 points to forge a 23-23 tie. NIU went up, 24-23, on a CMU service error, but the Chippewas got consecutive kills by Maddie Whitfield and Mallory Hernandez to go in front, 25-24, and then closed the set when Whitfield and Hernandez combined on a block to force an NIU attack error.
"We really had a good defensive effort across the board," Gawlik said. "We had said going into set three that big players play in big moments and not only find success but have the courage to take swings and make big plays.
"There were periods in set three where we got away from playing our style and we had a timeout in set four where we really challenged the group and said that we needed to step up in these moments, not because that we decided that we're going to win, but because we're not going to back down from those moments."
Hernandez posted 15 kills, while Whitfield finished with six kills and a team-high four blocks. Anna Erickson followed with 14 kills and 16 digs.
Sophomore libero Aly Gurtiza, who tallied her 1,000th career dig against Buffalo last weekend, had nine assists and 24 of CMU's 88 digs.
"Any match you can win at this time of year, they feel more valuable, but they're not," Gawlik said. "They all equal one, but when you start looking at where you're at in the standings, you can get caught up in thinking a match means more. I think that's something that we have to manage, that every team has to manage.
"Playing with the perception of pressure or playing 'must-win games,' those are the kinds of things that are important for us to take a deep breath in those big moments and play with courage.
"We say that courage is not the absence of fear of anxiety, it's just the ability to take a deep breath and push through anyway."
The teams are set to conclude the weekend on Saturday (3 p.m.).
The Chippewas moved to 2-0 on the match, winning the first two sets, 27-25 and 25-18. A competitive third set went to the Huskies, 25-21, before CMU rallied from an eight-point deficit to take the finale, 26-24.
At 16-9 overall and 9-5 in the league, CMU is tied for fourth in the Mid-American Conference with four matches to play. The top six teams make the league tournament. NIU is 14-10, 7-7.
"Tonight was a really gutsy and gritty win for our program," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "We were chasing some points in enemy territory in the fourth set. We put ourselves in a position to win set one, which was really close; we won by two points in set one and we won by two points in set four.
"Those are two sets that could go either way. They take some grit and big moments, and we had some players that stepped up in some big moments for us."
Freshman setter Claire Ammeraal paved the way for CMU with her second triple-double of the season. She finished with 10 kills on 19 attempts for a team-high .474 hitting percentage and also had 36 assists and 21 digs.
Down 23-19 in the first set, CMU stepped on the gas to take eight of the final 10 points to win the set and set the tone.
The Chippewas never trailed in a dominant second set, hitting.381, their best of the night. NIU scored four straight points to seize a 21-17 lead in the third set; CMU crept back to 21-20 but could get no closer as the Huskies scored four of the final five points.
The Chippewas overcame a 22-14 deficit in the dramatic fourth set, scoring nine of the next 10 points to forge a 23-23 tie. NIU went up, 24-23, on a CMU service error, but the Chippewas got consecutive kills by Maddie Whitfield and Mallory Hernandez to go in front, 25-24, and then closed the set when Whitfield and Hernandez combined on a block to force an NIU attack error.
"We really had a good defensive effort across the board," Gawlik said. "We had said going into set three that big players play in big moments and not only find success but have the courage to take swings and make big plays.
"There were periods in set three where we got away from playing our style and we had a timeout in set four where we really challenged the group and said that we needed to step up in these moments, not because that we decided that we're going to win, but because we're not going to back down from those moments."
Hernandez posted 15 kills, while Whitfield finished with six kills and a team-high four blocks. Anna Erickson followed with 14 kills and 16 digs.
Sophomore libero Aly Gurtiza, who tallied her 1,000th career dig against Buffalo last weekend, had nine assists and 24 of CMU's 88 digs.
"Any match you can win at this time of year, they feel more valuable, but they're not," Gawlik said. "They all equal one, but when you start looking at where you're at in the standings, you can get caught up in thinking a match means more. I think that's something that we have to manage, that every team has to manage.
"Playing with the perception of pressure or playing 'must-win games,' those are the kinds of things that are important for us to take a deep breath in those big moments and play with courage.
"We say that courage is not the absence of fear of anxiety, it's just the ability to take a deep breath and push through anyway."
Team Stats
CMU
NIU
Kills
61
48
Errors
20
22
Attempts
178
172
Hitting %
.230
.151
Points
76
66
Assists
50
43
Aces
6
10
Blocks
9
8
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
14
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
4
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