Volleyball splits weekend in Ohio
Volleyball coach Erik Olson said he was not happy with the play of his team over the weekend.
But CMU was still able to salvage a conference win.
The Chippewas split two Mid-American Conference matches, beating Eastern Michigan on Friday before being swept in three sets against Ohio on Saturday, to start conference play 1-1.
“We didn’t play very well this week,” said coach Erik Olson. “We need to get back and put it together in the gym this week.”
The weekend brings the team to 8-4 overall and 1-1 in the Mid-American Conference. Central’s conference record puts it one game behind in-state rival Western Michigan, which opened 2-0.
Ohio outside hitter Ellen Herman hit for 20 kills in the 3-0 sweep over CMU. The defending MAC Player of the Year had only one service ace, but her aggressive jump serve had Central on its heels.
Outside hitter Lauren Krupsky said CMU’s serves were not nearly as aggressive as the team would like. “We need to work on keeping up the aggressiveness of our serving,” Krupsky said. “We can’t let the other team dictate how we are going to play.”
Close win
Central traded sets with the Eagles throughout the match before shutting them down in the fifth set to earn its first MAC victory Friday.
“It was good that we were able to get a win out of our first MAC weekend,” said senior middle blocker Kaitlyn Hurt. “We didn’t play the way we wanted to, but at least we can put it behind us now.”
Krupsky totaled 28 kills on the weekend and led the team in both matches. Hurt had 20 kills.
“I don’t really think about how many kills I have during the match,” Krupsky said. “I just go out there and try to keep my teammates pumped up the whole time.”
The volleyball team has the week off before hosting its first matches of the season against Ball State on Friday and Toledo on Saturday.
“We are going to be okay,” Hurt said. “We still have a long season. We will put this weekend behind us and we can become something great next weekend.”
Both of this weekend’s matches begin at 7 p.m.
