Home Opener for Volleyball Ends in 3-1 Loss to Oakland

Wednesday, September 2

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

6 p.m.

Central Michigan University

0-4,0-0MAC

Oakland

2-2,0-0Horizon

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Oakland	29	25	20	25	3
Central Mich.	27	20	25	17	1

Photo by: Addison Glascock '29 - @addisonglasphotography

CMU Volleyball vs. Oakland (September 2, 2026)

Photo by: Addison Glascock '29 - @addisonglasphotography

9/2/2026 8:30:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Central Michigan Volleyball dropped the first game of The Heart of the Mitt Invitational to Oakland on Wednesday night.

By: Julia Bice

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – "I think that we are growing every single game. We are finding our identity. We have to keep pushing and move forward." said second year Head Coach, Arielle Wilson following her Central Michigan volleyball team's 3-1 loss to Oakland on Wednesday night at McGuirk Arena.

The Chippewas collected a win in the third set of the evening, the first set the new team has won of the 2026 season.

CMU took the Golden Grizzlies to extra points in the first set, ultimately falling 27-29. In set two, CMU lost 20-25, won the third set 25-20 and then lost in the fourth to concede the match, 17-25.

Once again, Taylor Cripe led Central Michigan with 16 kills, while freshman Brenna Storz recorded 10 kills and hit .389. At the service line, both Audrey Hackney and Brytn Lyon had two aces apiece. Cecilia Bustamante had a standout night on defense with 17 digs. Lyon, the setter for the Chippewas tallied 31 assists with two block assists.

The Chippewas held a solid net presence all night with a total of 13 blocks, far surpassing the four for Oakland in the match. In set one, CMU tallied six blocks as a team and five more in the third set victory. Cripe totaled 3.5 blocks on the night and Brenna Storz added three of her own.

Central Michigan is now 0-4 on the season, while Oakland moves to 2-2.

How it happened
The first set was close throughout. Neither of the teams led by more than three points and before the 15-point mark, the teams were tied three times, but the Chippewas were first to that 15-point mark for the first time in the 2026 season.

Central Michigan forced an Oakland timeout as it built a 17-13 lead. Audrey Hackney then charted the first ace of the match giving the Chippewas a lead of six at 19-13 to cap off the 6-0 run. Oakland then went on a 3-0 run to bring the score to 22-20 in favor of the Maroon & Gold. Oakland came back to tie the first set at 22 all.

CMU scored on a kill from Taylor Cripe, her sixth of the evening, and forced OU to take their final timeout of the set; 23-22 Chippewas.

Oakland worked back to earn set point with a 24-22 lead over CMU, but a block from Meisha Sykes and Audrey Hackney caused the set to go to extra points.

The set was given to Oakland with a potential kill, but a challenge by the Chippewas overturned it and sent Hackney to the line where she charted an ace and gave the Chippewas a 26-25 lead.

OU retook the lead at 28-27 and sealed the deal with a kill to win the first set 29-27.

In the second set, Oakland got off to a 7-4 lead. At the media timeout, CMU trailed 10-15 but got the ball back on a side out via OU service error. OU went on a 4-0 run before Taylor Cripe got the ball back to the Chippewa service line with her eighth kill. The Chippewas answered with three straight points to force a Golden Grizzlies timeout at 16-20 in favor of OU. Central Michigan dropped the second set 20-25.

In set three, CMU jumped out to a 6-0 lead before Oakland got the ball back. The Golden Grizzlies came back to take an 11-10 lead. At the media timeout, CMU trailed 12-15.

CMU retook the lead at 20-19 with a kill from Teyhlor Thomas and forced an OU timeout at 21-19. CMU scored twice more and forced Oakland to take their second timeout of the set.

Thomas ended the third set grabbing the first set victory for the Chippewas in the 2026 season, 25-20. In that third set, CMU hit .257 with five total blocks. Through three sets, the Chippewas had tallied 12 blocks total. Teyhlor Thomas had five block assists.

In the fourth set, CMU called the first timeout trailing 3-6. At the media, the score was 12-15 in favor of Oakland.

The Chippewas were aced at 16-23 to give match point to OU.

Karla Sanchez-George checked in for the first time and recorded a kill to keep the Chippewas alive.

CMU fell in the fourth set 17-25 and dropped the match.

The Chippewas will host three more games between Friday and Saturday in The Heart of the Mitt Invitational. CMU will face Illinois State on Friday at 4 p.m. and then host the RedBirds again and Michigan State on Saturday. Those games are slated for noon and 6 p.m. respectively.

For the latest news and updates on CMU Volleyball, follow the team in X (@cmuvolleyball) and on Instagram (@cmuvolleyball).

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