Volleyball to play three games in two days at Purdue
Beginning the season on the road can be a daunting task, especially during a year when the program is slated to be the top team in the Mid-American Conference.
That is exactly the prospect the CMU women’s volleyball team must manage as it opens its season in the 20th annual Mortar Board tournament today in West Lafayette, Ind.
Head coach Erik Olson is excited about his team going into his seventh year at the helm, and has high expectations for his athletes.
“I think we have our highest expectations this year,” he said. “Because we return a lot of good hitters and we have some good experience at the defensive specialist position.”
The Chippewas begin the three-match tournament at 5:30 p.m. today against No. 24 Northern Iowa. The Panthers are coming off a season where they finished 31-3 and 18-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Returning four players who averaged two kills per set, UNI is expected to pose a tough challenge for a young Chippewas squad.
CMU continues play at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday with a pair of matches against Purdue and Western Kentucky.
The Boilermakers return 10 starters from last season and come into Saturday’s match with a 4-1 record against CMU. Although finishing 2009 with a 14-17 record, Purdue finished seventh in the Big Ten Conference.
Western Kentucky returns eight athletes to a squad that finished 2009 with a 25-9 record and a second-place finish in the Sun Belt Conference. The Hilltoppers present the biggest test on the court from their middle blocker junior Tiffany Elmore, who averaged more than 2.3 kills per set last season.
CMU enters this weekend after a successful 3-0 win in their alumnae game on Saturday. The Chippewas return five players from 2009 when they finished 17-13 and 8-8 in the MAC.
The team will look to the veteran leadership of Seniors Lauren Krupsky and Lisa Johnson for a successful opening weekend.
Krupsky averaged 3.75 kills per set in 2009 and was rewarded with a first team All-MAC selection.
Krupsky said she’s been pleased with the preseason efforts of the team but knows that some specifics need to be ironed out in the early matches.
“We expect to play our best everyday,” Krupsky said.
