Saturday, November 16
Akron, Ohio
6:00 PM
Central Michigan University
24-6,15-3MAC
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Akron
11-19,7-11MAC
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Central Mich.
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Akron
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Photo by: Julia Bice '22,M'24 - @jb.jpg10
Volleyball Completes Winningest Season Since 1985 With Five-Set Thriller Over Akron
11/16/2024 9:18:00 PM | Volleyball
The Chippewas went all five sets with the Zips to claim their 15th MAC win of the year and secure the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament.
AKRON, Ohio. – A storybook night to cap off a part of a so far storybook season.
Central Michigan defeated Akron in its home gym to complete a series sweep over the Zips. CMU won the first, third, and fifth sets, 26-24, 31-29 and 15-10 respectively while dropping the second set 19-25 and the fourth 18-25. CMU ends its regular season with a 24-6 record (15-3 MAC) and Akron concludes its 2024 campaign at 11-19 (7-11 MAC).
HOW THE GAME UNFOLDED
In the first set, CMU closed on a 10-2 run that was highlighted by a 6-0 run with Abby Olin at the service line.
"We took some aggressive serves early on, and missed some which led us to be more conservative," Central Michigan head coach Mike Gawlik said. "But Abby's ability to come in and give us that push in set one was huge."
All five attackers for the Chippewas reached double-digit kills on the evening. Lauren Schrock and Natalia Rejment each killed 16 on the outside. Krystina Kasson and Grace Thomas each totaled 13 and Abby Olin was not far behind with 12 kills herself.
"Our best team is our team." Said Gawlik. "When we are able to just do our job and each person plays their role, that is where we find the most success."
Set two went to Akron as they held the Chippewas to a .135 hitting percentage – their lowest of the night. CMU added two service errors in the second set as Akron hit .346.
The Chippewas rebounded in set three with a victory. There were four service errors for CMU in that set, but it was offset by the four service aces they charted as well. "We came out a bit flat in set two after an extended set one, but we were able to stay composed and find success. Akron is really good when they are able to stay in system, so we had to force them to get out of system at the service line. That cost us some, but it also helped us find some success as they had to send over free balls."
Set three ended 31-29 for the Chippewas second extra-point set victory of the night.
The Chippewas dropped the fourth set, but closed it out in the fifth to advance to 15 conference wins on the season for the first time since 1985.
Central Michigan out blocked the Zips 13 to eight on the night with eight of the blocks for CMU coming from Abby Olin.
TOURMAMENT TIME
Next ahead for the Chippewas is the 2024 Mid-American Conference Tournament, which will be hosted by Bowling Green who won the MAC regular season with a 16-2 overall record.
Entering the game tonight, CMU knew it needed to win and for Ohio to pull out a win over Bowling Green for the title to be shared between the Chippewas and Falcons. Ohio fell to Bowling Green in five sets on Saturday evening.
"We knew we wanted to put pressure on Bowling Green and make them win games down the stretch. We were playing with our hearts in our throats a little bit, and I think they were too. We will keep our eyes forward and prepare for the tournament and look to find more success there."
Central Michigan defeated Bowling Green in its own gym earlier this season.
The tournament will be held November 22nd – 24th but CMU will not play until the 23rd as they have secured a first-round bye as the No. 2 seed in the tournament.
Central Michigan defeated Akron in its home gym to complete a series sweep over the Zips. CMU won the first, third, and fifth sets, 26-24, 31-29 and 15-10 respectively while dropping the second set 19-25 and the fourth 18-25. CMU ends its regular season with a 24-6 record (15-3 MAC) and Akron concludes its 2024 campaign at 11-19 (7-11 MAC).
HOW THE GAME UNFOLDED
In the first set, CMU closed on a 10-2 run that was highlighted by a 6-0 run with Abby Olin at the service line.
"We took some aggressive serves early on, and missed some which led us to be more conservative," Central Michigan head coach Mike Gawlik said. "But Abby's ability to come in and give us that push in set one was huge."
All five attackers for the Chippewas reached double-digit kills on the evening. Lauren Schrock and Natalia Rejment each killed 16 on the outside. Krystina Kasson and Grace Thomas each totaled 13 and Abby Olin was not far behind with 12 kills herself.
"Our best team is our team." Said Gawlik. "When we are able to just do our job and each person plays their role, that is where we find the most success."
Set two went to Akron as they held the Chippewas to a .135 hitting percentage – their lowest of the night. CMU added two service errors in the second set as Akron hit .346.
The Chippewas rebounded in set three with a victory. There were four service errors for CMU in that set, but it was offset by the four service aces they charted as well. "We came out a bit flat in set two after an extended set one, but we were able to stay composed and find success. Akron is really good when they are able to stay in system, so we had to force them to get out of system at the service line. That cost us some, but it also helped us find some success as they had to send over free balls."
Set three ended 31-29 for the Chippewas second extra-point set victory of the night.
The Chippewas dropped the fourth set, but closed it out in the fifth to advance to 15 conference wins on the season for the first time since 1985.
Central Michigan out blocked the Zips 13 to eight on the night with eight of the blocks for CMU coming from Abby Olin.
TOURMAMENT TIME
Next ahead for the Chippewas is the 2024 Mid-American Conference Tournament, which will be hosted by Bowling Green who won the MAC regular season with a 16-2 overall record.
Entering the game tonight, CMU knew it needed to win and for Ohio to pull out a win over Bowling Green for the title to be shared between the Chippewas and Falcons. Ohio fell to Bowling Green in five sets on Saturday evening.
"We knew we wanted to put pressure on Bowling Green and make them win games down the stretch. We were playing with our hearts in our throats a little bit, and I think they were too. We will keep our eyes forward and prepare for the tournament and look to find more success there."
Central Michigan defeated Bowling Green in its own gym earlier this season.
The tournament will be held November 22nd – 24th but CMU will not play until the 23rd as they have secured a first-round bye as the No. 2 seed in the tournament.
Team Stats
CMU
UA
Kills
70
61
Errors
26
25
Attempts
172
160
Hitting %
.256
.225
Points
91.0
80.0
Assists
68
59
Aces
8
11
Blocks
13
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
16
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
4
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