CMU plays final home game Saturday against Ball State
The Central Michigan women’s volleyball team plays its final game in Finch Fieldhouse at 7 p.m. Saturday against Ball State.
The Chippewas bring their record to 7-6 in Mid-American Conference into the split weekend following a 1-1 record last weekend.
An area of focus this week in practice was the team’s game plan in setting up their outside hitters.
In their five-set loss against Eastern Michigan Oct. 28, the Chippewas failed to finish off the Eagles and lost because of failures scoring points at critical junctures.
Head coach Erik Olson said it needs to be worked on if they want to accomplish anything before the MAC tournament.
“We really don’t take care of our point scoring opportunities in the fifth set,” he said. “I would re-evaluate every setting choice in that match, so hopefully we can learn through it and get better through the MAC tournament.”
Good offensive decisions will be important on Saturday as Ball State (10-13, 5-7 MAC) brings its No. 1 ranked defense, limiting teams to a .163 hitting percentage. The Cardinals have won nine of their last 10 matches, including a 3-1 victory against CMU on Oct. 1.
Senior outside hitter Lauren Krupsky said the team will need to continue to serve strong, especially against a team as strong as BSU.
“It seems to be the constant thing we have been working on, and that’s serving aggressively,” Krupsky said.
Krupsky has been tearing up the MAC of late, averaging 3.42 kills per set. Junior Kaitlyn Schultz has also provided a spark, hitting .375 for the season.
Defensively, CMU will look to liberos Lisa Johnson and Jenna Coates, both of which have helped the defensive unit reach third in the conference. Limiting opponents to a .190 hitting percentage, Johnson and Coates have totaled 264 and 200 digs this year, respectively.
In order to win tough matches going forward, Coates said the team must put an emphasis on following the game plan and having good team communication.
“You just have to be communicating with your coaches, there has to be a lot more communication,” Coates said.
Krupsky said the team will need to be cognizant of their opponents middle hitters and the way they place their shots.
“We’re working on some different out-of-system options so it’s not very left side oriented,” Krupsky said. “Against Ball State, it will just be playing hard and taking care of their middles.”
