Volleyball Releases 2023 Schedule

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Central Michigan Volleyball announced its 2023 schedule on Wednesday. The Chippewas' 2023 schedule features the return of the Chippewa Invitational over the Labor Day holiday weekend (Sept. 1-2) and the Chippewas open competition with its Match on the Mack exhibition contest against NCAA Division II Northern Michigan on Mackinac Island (Aug. 19).

The Chippewa Invitational will feature UAlbany (Sept. 1; 12:30 p.m.), Saint Louis (Sept. 1; 7:30 p.m.), and Bradley (Sept. 2; 3:00 p.m.) for a six-match, two-day event in McGuirk Arena. CMU has hit the road to take on both Saint Louis and Bradley in each of the last two seasons, sweeping the Billikens in 2022 and 3-1 over the Braves in 2021. The first match of the weekend for the Chippewas will be the first meeting with Albany.

Central Michigan (20-12, 12-6 MAC in 2022) will face six programs that entered national postseason play—NCAA or National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC)—in 2022:

Grand Canyon; Sept. 9 (NIVC) – Hawkeye Invitational
South Dakota; Sept. 16 (NCAA) – Green Bay Invite
at Ball State; Sept. 21-22 (NCAA)
Toledo; Sept. 30-Oct. 1 (NIVC)
Bowling Green; Oct. 27 (NCAA)
Ohio; Nov. 10-11 (NIVC)

CMU's competition in the Green Bay Invite will bring two key matchups ahead of the conference schedule. CMU and UW-Green Bay (Sept. 15) have an extensive history of having split 10 matches since 1999 though the Phoenix and Chippewas have met just once during Head Coach Mike Gawlik's tenure in Mount Pleasant. The Chippewas will then face South Dakota (Sept. 16)—fresh-off their 2022 NCAA round of 16 run—for the first time since falling at the Coyotes 3-1 in the 2019 NIVC.

The start of Mid-American Conference action in Muncie, Ind. on Sept. 21-22 features a series that has seen the home team win 10 of the last 12 matchups as CMU claimed both contests in McGuirk Arena last year. The two times the road team walked away victorious are both in favor of the Chippewas: March 20, 2021 (W, 3-1) and October 27, 2017 (W, 3-2).

Five MAC home matches feature visits from 2022 national postseason entries, including a one-off visit from 2022 MAC Tournament Champion Bowling Green (Oct. 27) where CMU will look to snap a seven-match streak to the Falcons. The Chippewas have taken 10 of 13 from Toledo (Sept. 30-Oct.1) since the start of 2017, but have dropped their last three to Ohio (Nov. 10-11).

CMU enters the 2023 campaign in search of its third 20-win season its last four full campaigns after finishing 20-12 last season. The Chippewas finished fourth in a deep 2022 MAC race as eight teams finished with a .500 record or better in league play. Despite falling to regular season MAC Champion Ball State in the league's semifinal, Central Michigan is one of five programs to advance to national postseason play from the MAC.

—CMU—

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