Central Michigan University Athletics
Friday, November 8
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
6:00 PM
Central Michigan University
21-6,12-3MAC
3
vs
0
Kent State
2-23,1-14MAC
1
2
3
F
Kent St.
11
18
20
0
Central Mich.
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography
Volleyball Grabs Another Win in Sweep Fashion Over Kent State, Remains in Second Place
11/8/2024 8:38:00 PM | Volleyball
Central Michigan celebrates its annual alumni night with a 3-0 win over Kent State in McGuirk Arena.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Hot from the start. That is the best way to describe Central Michigan Volleyball in its Friday night match against Kent State. Central Michigan defeated the Golden Flashes in three sets (25-11, 25-18, 25-20) to improve to 21-6 on the season and 12-3 in MAC play. The loss for Kent State drops them to 2-23 on the season and 1-14 in the MAC season.
The win clinched a MAC postseason berth for the Chippewas and kept the team in second place in the MAC standings, 1.0 game behind Bowling Green (18-8, 13-2 MAC).
On Saturday, the Chippewas will host Kent State again in their final regular season match in McGuirk Arena at 4 p.m. as the Chippewas will celebrate the final home match for five graduating seniors. That event will take place following the match.
Out of the gate, the Chippewas' offense. In the first set, Central Michigan hit .481 as a team while holding Kent State to a .000 hitting percentage. Olin charted 12 kills (.556) and Kasson closed the night with 12 kills (.524). Natalia Rejment led CMU with 13 kills, hitting .300 on the night.
"Abby Olin and Krystina Kasson hit really well for us tonight." said Head Coach Mike Gawlik. "When you have a left side that hits .300, that is a really great night. They are managing a lot more balls and in some different positions that some of the higher percentage attackers, so to see Nat come to life offensively was really nice."
As Central Michigan made its way into the second set and third sets, the offense cooled down, but was still enough to take the sweep on the night.
"There were some moments where we kind of had lapses, but we rebounded really well, and we shared the load incredibly well tonight." Gawlik said.
There were three Chippewas with double-digit kills in Rejment, Kasson and Olin, while freshman Grace Thomas added another seven.
Not only was Central Michigan sharing the load on the offensive side of the ball, but also defensively. "Sometimes in the game of volleyball I think defense can get overshadowed, but our defense tonight had a really nice match."
There were three Chippewas with double-digit dig nights, and two more over the seven notches. Freshman libero Hannah Langton led CMU with 16 digs, her 25th double-digit dig night of her young career. Not far behind Langton was Rejment with 11 and Alina Anderson added 10 of her own. "To have five players over seven digs in a three set match is really good. We play really strong defensively and that gives our offense just better opportunities to score when we have quality nuggets behind them."
The Chippewas added eight blocks on the night. Olin charted five, two solos and Thomas charted three of her own.
In set three, CMU trailed 8-11, and Galwik took the opportunity to regroup his team.
"If you look into our huddle, a lot of the time we are just breathing. We caught ourselves trying to do maybe a little too much…so it was just a time to get us back on track and play like we had been playing, which was great."
There were 28 Central Michigan Volleyball Alumni members in attendance as the group was being honored in the program's annual alumni night celebration. The alumni were invited into the locker room to sign the Action C and were recognized on the court during the match.
"I love seeing people that have played in this program come back and support," Gawlik said. "I think athletes build such a close relationship within their teams when they are collegiate athletes that it is just special to get them back into one place where they can share stories and relive their glory days. We had people from all different generations and I think it is just great that they can continue to find their home within our program."
"Our goal is to take care of the match, but of course to celebrate the special group that is in their last season with us. We have built such close relationships with this group, seen them at some really good times, and maybe had times where we had to give them tough love. But it will be a great night to celebrate them on their home floor."
The win clinched a MAC postseason berth for the Chippewas and kept the team in second place in the MAC standings, 1.0 game behind Bowling Green (18-8, 13-2 MAC).
On Saturday, the Chippewas will host Kent State again in their final regular season match in McGuirk Arena at 4 p.m. as the Chippewas will celebrate the final home match for five graduating seniors. That event will take place following the match.
Out of the gate, the Chippewas' offense. In the first set, Central Michigan hit .481 as a team while holding Kent State to a .000 hitting percentage. Olin charted 12 kills (.556) and Kasson closed the night with 12 kills (.524). Natalia Rejment led CMU with 13 kills, hitting .300 on the night.
"Abby Olin and Krystina Kasson hit really well for us tonight." said Head Coach Mike Gawlik. "When you have a left side that hits .300, that is a really great night. They are managing a lot more balls and in some different positions that some of the higher percentage attackers, so to see Nat come to life offensively was really nice."
As Central Michigan made its way into the second set and third sets, the offense cooled down, but was still enough to take the sweep on the night.
"There were some moments where we kind of had lapses, but we rebounded really well, and we shared the load incredibly well tonight." Gawlik said.
There were three Chippewas with double-digit kills in Rejment, Kasson and Olin, while freshman Grace Thomas added another seven.
Not only was Central Michigan sharing the load on the offensive side of the ball, but also defensively. "Sometimes in the game of volleyball I think defense can get overshadowed, but our defense tonight had a really nice match."
There were three Chippewas with double-digit dig nights, and two more over the seven notches. Freshman libero Hannah Langton led CMU with 16 digs, her 25th double-digit dig night of her young career. Not far behind Langton was Rejment with 11 and Alina Anderson added 10 of her own. "To have five players over seven digs in a three set match is really good. We play really strong defensively and that gives our offense just better opportunities to score when we have quality nuggets behind them."
The Chippewas added eight blocks on the night. Olin charted five, two solos and Thomas charted three of her own.
In set three, CMU trailed 8-11, and Galwik took the opportunity to regroup his team.
"If you look into our huddle, a lot of the time we are just breathing. We caught ourselves trying to do maybe a little too much…so it was just a time to get us back on track and play like we had been playing, which was great."
There were 28 Central Michigan Volleyball Alumni members in attendance as the group was being honored in the program's annual alumni night celebration. The alumni were invited into the locker room to sign the Action C and were recognized on the court during the match.
"I love seeing people that have played in this program come back and support," Gawlik said. "I think athletes build such a close relationship within their teams when they are collegiate athletes that it is just special to get them back into one place where they can share stories and relive their glory days. We had people from all different generations and I think it is just great that they can continue to find their home within our program."
"Our goal is to take care of the match, but of course to celebrate the special group that is in their last season with us. We have built such close relationships with this group, seen them at some really good times, and maybe had times where we had to give them tough love. But it will be a great night to celebrate them on their home floor."
Team Stats
KentSt
CMU
Kills
30
51
Errors
15
16
Attempts
111
119
Hitting %
.135
.294
Points
38.0
63.0
Assists
27
47
Aces
1
4
Blocks
7
8
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
DS/L
/ VolleyballOPP
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballInterview With Adam Jaksa and Arielle Wilson
Tuesday, August 26
BTS Volleyball Media Day
Thursday, August 07
Volleyball Passing Out Donuts
Thursday, April 10
Volleyball Sign Question
Tuesday, February 11