CMU volleyball loses in straight sets against Ball State
It was a blowout inside McGuirk Arena Friday night.
And the Central Michigan volleyball team was on the losing end of it against Ball State.
“We had to do the little things tonight,” said head coach Erik Olson. “We had to really want this one.”
That isn’t what happened tonight.
“We didn’t do the little things like coach said,” said sophomore setter Kelly Maxwell. “We weren’t us tonight.”
CMU (9-7, 2-3 Mid-American Conference) didn’t look like anyone they want to be, losing in three-straight sets; 25-19, 25-20, 25-14.
After a quick CMU start, the Cardinals (16-2, 5-0 MAC) surged back to tie the game at 10. They took the lead at 11-10 and never looked back.
“We lost our aggressiveness,” Olson said. “They (Ball State) had a phenomenal night.”
CMU has been inconsistent this season.
In the first four weeks of non-conference tournaments, CMU had one tournament championship at Marshall. The other three could have very well been wins, but inconsistent play and injuries changed the outcomes.
In the first week of MAC play, the Chippewas couldn’t get it going against Northern Illinois or Western Michigan, losing both matches.
Then last weekend happened.
After losing the first two games against Eastern Michigan, CMU had to battle back and win the match in five. However, in the next game, CMU nearly gave up an early 2-0 lead on Kent State after winning the first two in decisive fashion.
That brings us to tonight. The Chippewas had their moments of success and got on some early runs in all three matches, but the Cardinals held tough and prevailed in all three games.
“The loss is absolutely on us,” said Olson. “There wasn’t a whole lot going on.”
The Chippewas play at 7 p.m. on Saturday against Toledo (6-10, 1-3 MAC) at McGuirk Arena
