Chippewas playing MAC East opponents tough
The Central Michigan volleyball team looked down and out two weeks ago after losing an ugly match at home against rival Western Michigan.
With the loss, the team fell to last place in the Mid-American Conference West Division with a 1-5 conference record. Hardly what most predicted when the season began.
Shaken but not defeated, CMU stayed in the locker room longer than usual after the game, seemingly to talk about what they wanted to accomplish.
Since that night, the Chippewas have been a different team, winning their last four matches.
The winning streak continued over the weekend, with CMU sweeping the University at Buffalo 25-21, 25-15 and 25-17 Saturday in Buffalo, N.Y. On Friday, it beat MAC East contender Akron 3-1 (25-18, 19-25, 25-21 and 25-22) at Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio.
The wins improved their record to .500 overall at 11-11 and more importantly evened their conference record at 5-5.
“This was an important weekend for us,” said head coach Erik Olson. “We have been playing some good volleyball as of late, and tonight we were really firing on all cylinders. It’s good to see.”
The Bulls did their best to hang in, but seemed overmatched by a CMU attack led by junior middle blocker Kaitlyn Schultz, who finished with a match-high 14 kills and .636 hitting percentage.
But she was not alone, as the team featured a diverse attack that saw three players reach double-digit kills. Sophomore Lindsey Dulude and senior Lauren Krupsky each had 10 and 11 kills, respectively, while sophomores Katie Schuette and Val DeWeerd each contributed five kills.
Defensively, they were led by Schuette and Kelsey Detweiler, who each had 10 digs. Junior setter Catherine Ludwig had 37 assists. Kaitlyn Schultz’s 17 kills and .571 hitting percentage led the way for the team against Akron. Dulude had 11 kills while Val DeWeerd and Lauren Krupsky added 10 and 9, respectively.
Senior Lisa Johnson had 14 digs and Catherine Ludwig had 41 assists.
All of the wins on the win streak have come against MAC East opponents, and the Chippewas are now 4-1 against the division this season, a stark contrast from the 1-4 mark against teams from the West.
Olson said while playing the conference’s tougher division may lead to losses, playing tough matches can only benefit the team in the end.
“I think were already battle tested,” he said. “We knew the division would be tough, we just have to keep battling.”
The team returns home with a chance to extend their winning streak to five when they face in-state rival Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. Thursday at Finch Fieldhouse before hitting the road to play at Kent State at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
