Saturday, September 7
Albany, N.Y.
11:00 AM
Central Michigan University
6-0,0-0MAC
3
vs
1
Iona
0-5,0-0MAAC
1
2
3
4
F
Central Mich.
25
25
22
25
3
Iona
5
13
25
19
1
Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography
The Best Start Since 2008 for Chippewa Volleyball Gives Boost Heading into Home Tournament
9/7/2024 1:42:00 PM | Volleyball
Central Michigan Volleyball won their final game of the UAlbany Invitational to remain undefeated in the 2024 season.
Albany N.Y. — Central Michigan Volleyball remains undefeated in the 2024 season after a 3-1 victory over Iona in the final game of the UAlbany Invitational. CMU defeated UAlbany and FDU on Friday and closed it out with their sixth victory of the season over the Gaels.
Out of the gates, CMU came to play. The Chippewas used a 20-2 run to ultimately take the set 25-5 and force Iona to a hitting percentage of -.300 where they killed just three balls. CMU killed eight as a team and hit .300. In set one, Natalia Rejment led CMU killing three while Grace Thomas and Linnea Willer added two each. Abby Olin set her tone early with two solo blocks and a service ace.
In the second set, Iona started to find a groove and made more of a game of the set. Iona still hit 0.00 in the set, but the 25-19 victory for CMU gave them their second set win of the day. Willer started to ignite killing four balls in that set while three other Chippewas added two apiece. Defensively, CMU recorded 10 blocks in the set, Brooklyn Conner leading the charge with one solo and three block assists.
The Chippewas dropped the third set of the day to the Gaels, 22-25. Iona hit their best of the day, .225 and held CMU to .130. Maggie Uhwat, the freshman outside hitter, killed five balls.
To close out the trip, CMU gathered a 25-19 victory in set four to ultimately take the champion title for their second straight tournament. Seven kills for Abby Olin would highlight that set along with her solo block and block assist.
Total on the day, Linnea Willer led the Chippewas with nine kills and three block assists. Abby Olin charted three solo blocks and a block assist along with a .600 hitting percentage. Freshman Hannah Langton dug 22 balls and Brooklyn Conner also added four total blocks on the afternoon.
"We had a match today where we were in complete control in the first set, so we exercised our bench a little bit. This gave those players the ability to show a body of work and gain experience as we head into the next stretch and inevitably conference play. This gives them the ability to show us that they are ready for the moment when the opportunity presents itself. We dropped a close one, but we had people in different roles, feeling some nerves or butterflies, but those are good things to feel and work through to gain experience." Said ninth year head coach, Mike Gawlik.
Coach Gawlik preaches to his team every season "we don't need everything from somebody, but we do need something from everybody" and that is exactly how the Chippewas operated in the match against Iona, but also in the season thus far.
Five Chippewas recorded 15 or more kills over the three games – with each player having one game that was their highlight of the weekend. CMU Totaled 27 blocks on the weekend, out-blocking their opponents by 10.
The 26 service aces from the team were significantly higher than the seven times the Chippewas were aced in their three games. The Chippewas hitting percentage on the weekend was nearly double their opponents (.203 to .106) and averaged 3.84 more assists/set than their three opponents (12.67 – 8.83)
"We want to be aggressive from the service line. That is how we are built to win. If we serve tough, we gain the advantage. We look at our serve as a weapon. With that, we will make some mistakes at times, but we see the fruit of that when we out ace people at the rate that we are. That is 19 more points this weekend for us simply on aces. That is a great number."
Abby Olin earned Tournament MVP honors and Grace Thomas was also named to the all-tournament team.
The Chippewas 6-0 start is their best since 2008 when the team started 8-0 and ultimately went on to finish second in the MAC.
CMU will return to Mount Pleasant to host the Chippewa Invitational welcoming in Green Bay, SEMO and Eastern Kentucky. Central Michigan will take on Eastern Kentucky at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, and SEMO at 7:30 p.m.. CMU will take on Green Bay at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday to close out the tournament.
Out of the gates, CMU came to play. The Chippewas used a 20-2 run to ultimately take the set 25-5 and force Iona to a hitting percentage of -.300 where they killed just three balls. CMU killed eight as a team and hit .300. In set one, Natalia Rejment led CMU killing three while Grace Thomas and Linnea Willer added two each. Abby Olin set her tone early with two solo blocks and a service ace.
In the second set, Iona started to find a groove and made more of a game of the set. Iona still hit 0.00 in the set, but the 25-19 victory for CMU gave them their second set win of the day. Willer started to ignite killing four balls in that set while three other Chippewas added two apiece. Defensively, CMU recorded 10 blocks in the set, Brooklyn Conner leading the charge with one solo and three block assists.
The Chippewas dropped the third set of the day to the Gaels, 22-25. Iona hit their best of the day, .225 and held CMU to .130. Maggie Uhwat, the freshman outside hitter, killed five balls.
To close out the trip, CMU gathered a 25-19 victory in set four to ultimately take the champion title for their second straight tournament. Seven kills for Abby Olin would highlight that set along with her solo block and block assist.
Total on the day, Linnea Willer led the Chippewas with nine kills and three block assists. Abby Olin charted three solo blocks and a block assist along with a .600 hitting percentage. Freshman Hannah Langton dug 22 balls and Brooklyn Conner also added four total blocks on the afternoon.
"We had a match today where we were in complete control in the first set, so we exercised our bench a little bit. This gave those players the ability to show a body of work and gain experience as we head into the next stretch and inevitably conference play. This gives them the ability to show us that they are ready for the moment when the opportunity presents itself. We dropped a close one, but we had people in different roles, feeling some nerves or butterflies, but those are good things to feel and work through to gain experience." Said ninth year head coach, Mike Gawlik.
Coach Gawlik preaches to his team every season "we don't need everything from somebody, but we do need something from everybody" and that is exactly how the Chippewas operated in the match against Iona, but also in the season thus far.
Five Chippewas recorded 15 or more kills over the three games – with each player having one game that was their highlight of the weekend. CMU Totaled 27 blocks on the weekend, out-blocking their opponents by 10.
The 26 service aces from the team were significantly higher than the seven times the Chippewas were aced in their three games. The Chippewas hitting percentage on the weekend was nearly double their opponents (.203 to .106) and averaged 3.84 more assists/set than their three opponents (12.67 – 8.83)
"We want to be aggressive from the service line. That is how we are built to win. If we serve tough, we gain the advantage. We look at our serve as a weapon. With that, we will make some mistakes at times, but we see the fruit of that when we out ace people at the rate that we are. That is 19 more points this weekend for us simply on aces. That is a great number."
Abby Olin earned Tournament MVP honors and Grace Thomas was also named to the all-tournament team.
The Chippewas 6-0 start is their best since 2008 when the team started 8-0 and ultimately went on to finish second in the MAC.
CMU will return to Mount Pleasant to host the Chippewa Invitational welcoming in Green Bay, SEMO and Eastern Kentucky. Central Michigan will take on Eastern Kentucky at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, and SEMO at 7:30 p.m.. CMU will take on Green Bay at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday to close out the tournament.
Team Stats
CMU
Iona
Kills
51
32
Errors
19
29
Attempts
137
145
Hitting %
.234
.021
Points
70.0
41.0
Assists
49
28
Aces
8
3
Blocks
11
6
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
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