Volleyball sweeps weekend with wins over Bowling Green, Miami of Ohio
Confidence is at an all-time high for the Central Michigan volleyball team as it comes back home for the next two weeks.
On Saturday CMU beat Miami of Ohio in four matches.
“We were really playing well in this match,” said Head Coach Erik Olson. “In the first and fourth set, we were quite good.”
The Chippewas set the tone for the match in game one, dominating with a 13-point lead, ultimately winning 25-13.
After a few close games, CMU came out in game four, easily handling the RedHawks 25-12 to finish the match.
“I don’t think this team ever thought game five was an option,” Olson said. “When we were focused, we were good.”
Freshman outside hitter Kaitlyn McIntyre, junior outside hitter Lindsey Dulude and senior middle blocker Kaitlyn Schultz all had double-digit kills. Junior right-side hitter Jocelyn VerVelde added in nine kills in three games.
“It feels great to be on the court again,” VerVelde said. “I’ve missed it a lot and it felt really nice to be able to play today.”
They weren’t the only ones making an impact on the match. Sophomore setter Kelly Maxwell ran the offense with 54 assists (13.5/game) while sophomore Jenna Coates led the defense with 24 digs.
“We passed great and put together a good effort,” VerVelde said. “Once we got into the swing of things, we put together a good night of volleyball.”
Bowling Green
It took a full team effort by CMU, winning a five-game conference match against Bowling Green Friday night.
“We were pretty solid,” Schultz said. “After the first game, we got our passing down and started playing our volleyball.”
BGSU and CMU traded leads back and forth in all but one game, but the Chippewas outlasted the Falcons 15-12 in the final game.
“We were happy to get the win,” Olson said. “We felt that Bowling Green was out for blood tonight, and that gives credit to our team's composure.”
The match was the fifth this season to go five games. CMU is 3-2 in those matches this season after going 1-6 last season.
“We finally learned how to finish,” Schultz said. “Apparently, we like playing that way, because last year we struggled with that.”
Olson said he remains calm in the final game of a match.
“If you ask my wife, she’d say she can’t even watch those games,” Olson said. “I don’t think my pulse goes over 70 in any of the matches. You get used to it.”
Schultz recorded 18 kills, including kill No. 1,000. The milestone makes her the fourteenth member of the CMU 1,000-kill club. She also passed Julie Roberts (1978-80) for No. 13 all-time with 1,011.
McIntyre led the team with 22 kills and added six digs.
