Friday, October 18
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
6:00 PM
Central Michigan University
16-5,7-2MAC
3
vs
0
Northern Illinois
3-15,1-7MAC
1
2
3
F
NIU
21
20
17
0
Central Mich.
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography
Volleyball Posts Second-Straight Sweep, Remains Atop MAC
10/18/2024 10:36:00 PM | Volleyball
Chippewas entertain league co-leading Buffalo next weekend in MAC showdown
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – No letdown. Full steam ahead.
Natalia Rejment had 11 kills and Krystina Kasson added 10 and Central Michigan had its best attacking night of the season on Friday as the Chippewas rolled to a three-set victory over Northern Illinois in a Mid-American Conference volleyball match at McGuirk Arena.
The Chippewas won, 25-21, 25-20, 25-17 in improving to 16-5, 7-2 MAC. They share first place with Buffalo and Bowling Green. CMU welcomes Buffalo for a two-match set next weekend.
"We're playing pretty well," said CMU coach Mike Gawlik, whose team surpassed its 2023 victory total with Friday's win, its third straight. "Success breeds confidence and I think we're just trusting that our good is good enough.
"It's a matter of putting good swings in play and playing at a level that you can attain because you've done it now for a handful of matches in a row. You're not thinking, I've got to play great; I've just got to play like me. And when you play like that, you're in your comfort zone. Our group right now is playing a real mature style of volleyball."
The victory came 24 hours after a three-set win over rival Western Michigan, the defending MAC champion. The Chippewas kept their foot on the gas against NIU, 3-15, 1-7.
"We played well (Thursday) night in a rivalry game and it was emotional and a lot of people were here," Gawlik said. "Then you've got to turn around and start the match from scratch and play a brand-new team and re-establish momentum in a brand-new match. We challenged the group with that and I think we did a nice job.
"Northern Illinois is a good team. They fight, they're going five (sets) a lot; their record is what it is, but they're in a lot of matches and I thought that we had to be disciplined today to win."
The Chippewas finished with a sizzling .424 attacking percentage, their season best and the third best by a MAC team this season.
"Our offense was lights out today," Gawlik said. "That's an incredibly high number and that's a credit to the entire team. To call out one attacker and say they were good would be unfair to the other attackers. We really had five attackers tonight that were ready to play and combined with our serve and defensive presence we're tough to beat. Everybody was ready to answer the call."
CMU setter Allie Korba finished with 36 assists and Hannah Langton and Rejment led on the back line with seven digs apiece. Aly Gurtiza posted a team-high three aces.
"I think we have a really high standard in our practice gym, so it starts there," Korba said. "Everything starts with the gas in the engine, our first-ball contact; nothing can happen without them.
"We're digging out really aggressive attacks, aggressive serves, and they're putting the ball high enough and in good places to where we can run the offense. Our attackers are taking great swings and they're looking for seams. Honestly, I just credit everyone around me."
The Chippewas are at the midway point of the MAC schedule and next weekend's showdowns with Buffalo will certainly go a long way in deciding, ultimately, the regular season league champion.
"I think this team is really special," said Korba, a co-captain along with Linnea Willer. "Our chemistry is through the roof; we love each other so much and we're able to play free and confident because we have so much trust in each other.
"I think the MAC is really evenly matched. Something we keep preaching as captains is everyone in the MAC is beatable, but everyone is good. On any given night, anyone can beat anybody so it's just preparing on our side of the net and controlling the controllables."
Said Gawlik: "These are the matches we signed up for, these are the fun ones, this is why we're playing. We're playing matches that matter against teams that are good and that's what we want. We just want to play hard and let it rip and they're going to do the same.
"The big thing for us is we've just got to keep our eyes on what we're doing. It's growing where we're planted and keeping our eyes where we are right now instead of looking around. … We just need to play good volleyball."
Natalia Rejment had 11 kills and Krystina Kasson added 10 and Central Michigan had its best attacking night of the season on Friday as the Chippewas rolled to a three-set victory over Northern Illinois in a Mid-American Conference volleyball match at McGuirk Arena.
The Chippewas won, 25-21, 25-20, 25-17 in improving to 16-5, 7-2 MAC. They share first place with Buffalo and Bowling Green. CMU welcomes Buffalo for a two-match set next weekend.
"We're playing pretty well," said CMU coach Mike Gawlik, whose team surpassed its 2023 victory total with Friday's win, its third straight. "Success breeds confidence and I think we're just trusting that our good is good enough.
"It's a matter of putting good swings in play and playing at a level that you can attain because you've done it now for a handful of matches in a row. You're not thinking, I've got to play great; I've just got to play like me. And when you play like that, you're in your comfort zone. Our group right now is playing a real mature style of volleyball."
The victory came 24 hours after a three-set win over rival Western Michigan, the defending MAC champion. The Chippewas kept their foot on the gas against NIU, 3-15, 1-7.
"We played well (Thursday) night in a rivalry game and it was emotional and a lot of people were here," Gawlik said. "Then you've got to turn around and start the match from scratch and play a brand-new team and re-establish momentum in a brand-new match. We challenged the group with that and I think we did a nice job.
"Northern Illinois is a good team. They fight, they're going five (sets) a lot; their record is what it is, but they're in a lot of matches and I thought that we had to be disciplined today to win."
The Chippewas finished with a sizzling .424 attacking percentage, their season best and the third best by a MAC team this season.
"Our offense was lights out today," Gawlik said. "That's an incredibly high number and that's a credit to the entire team. To call out one attacker and say they were good would be unfair to the other attackers. We really had five attackers tonight that were ready to play and combined with our serve and defensive presence we're tough to beat. Everybody was ready to answer the call."
CMU setter Allie Korba finished with 36 assists and Hannah Langton and Rejment led on the back line with seven digs apiece. Aly Gurtiza posted a team-high three aces.
"I think we have a really high standard in our practice gym, so it starts there," Korba said. "Everything starts with the gas in the engine, our first-ball contact; nothing can happen without them.
"We're digging out really aggressive attacks, aggressive serves, and they're putting the ball high enough and in good places to where we can run the offense. Our attackers are taking great swings and they're looking for seams. Honestly, I just credit everyone around me."
The Chippewas are at the midway point of the MAC schedule and next weekend's showdowns with Buffalo will certainly go a long way in deciding, ultimately, the regular season league champion.
"I think this team is really special," said Korba, a co-captain along with Linnea Willer. "Our chemistry is through the roof; we love each other so much and we're able to play free and confident because we have so much trust in each other.
"I think the MAC is really evenly matched. Something we keep preaching as captains is everyone in the MAC is beatable, but everyone is good. On any given night, anyone can beat anybody so it's just preparing on our side of the net and controlling the controllables."
Said Gawlik: "These are the matches we signed up for, these are the fun ones, this is why we're playing. We're playing matches that matter against teams that are good and that's what we want. We just want to play hard and let it rip and they're going to do the same.
"The big thing for us is we've just got to keep our eyes on what we're doing. It's growing where we're planted and keeping our eyes where we are right now instead of looking around. … We just need to play good volleyball."
Team Stats
NIU
CMU
Kills
37
44
Errors
19
8
Attempts
93
85
Hitting %
.194
.424
Points
41.0
57.0
Assists
35
43
Aces
3
5
Blocks
1
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
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