CMU volleyball opens up at McGuirk Arena for first time
It’s time to open the doors to McGuirk Arena once again.
This year the Central Michigan volleyball team will make its first ever appearance to the new events center at 7 p.m. Thursday against Eastern Michigan (13-3) and at 7 p.m. Saturday against Kent State (7-10).
“It’s going to be awesome,” said head coach Erik Olson. “I wish it was week one, but here we are five weeks later.”
The Chippewas (7-6) will have try and defeat a team that's defensively sound.
“They have a very good libero (senior Haley Stein), who cleans up the left half of the court very well and an outstanding outside hitter (junior Rachel Iaquaniello),” Olson said. “Eastern is always known for their defense.”
EMU is coming off a big win against a Northern Illinois team who beat the Chippewas in three straight sets.
“Eastern (Michigan) is playing very well right now after catching Northern (Illinois) on a bad night,” Olson said.
Kent State
The Golden Flashes are below .500, but the CMU understands it needs to concentrate and not overlook its opponent.
“We expect to win both matches every time,” said senior middle blocker Kaitlyn Schultz. “We just need to take it one match, set and score at a time.”
CMU has had some trouble with all the injuries it faced, but it looks to be close to full strength with junior outside hitter Val DeWeerd and Schultz competing throughout practice.
Junior right side hitter Jocelyn VerVelde participated in practice, but is not cleared to play in games or scrimmages quite yet. She is doubtful for the weekend. On the other hand, Schultz and DeWeerd look to start.
With this being the first time the team will play a regular season game at McGuirk Arena, there is a lot of excitement after playing at Finch Fieldhouse for all of last year.
“We’ve had our Maroon and Gold Match in here and it’s a great atmosphere. With the bleachers pulled out, everyone is so close,” Schultz said. “There is more energy here then Finch, where everything was far away.”
There is added excitement because the team doesn’t have to travel.
“It feels amazing to not have to travel this weekend,” Schultz said. “We’re finally going to be in our home arena with our fans. It’s a great feeling.”
CMU expects its fans to come out and support the team while they open up its new arena. The team looks for the fans to play a big role.
“We have an amazing beginning to the match, so the fans should be there for warm-ups,” Olson said. “Volleyball is generally a rowdier atmosphere and is not a very polite sport.”
The Chippewas couldn’t ask for a bigger match to open up the new arena.
With the Eagles off to a hot start and CMU dropping its first two matches, a win on Thursday night could give them the momentum to continue past the Golden Flashes Saturday night and throughout the rest of Mid-American Conference play.
