The Central Michigan volleyball team (9-6, 2-2 Mid-American Conference) had a bad win against Kent State (7-12, 0-4 MAC) on Saturday night at McGuirk Arena, struggling to beat the below .500 team.

“I was not happy with how we played and it’s not a happy locker room right now,” said head coach Erik Olson. “On Thursday, I felt we took a step forward with our win, but we didn’t move anywhere with our game tonight.”

After winning games one and two 25-14 and 25-17, the team lost game three 25-20 and nearly lost game four. However, it won 25-22 against a team that is 7-12 overall and still looks to win its first MAC game after starting 0-4.

The Chippewas did have some positives despite the unsatisfying win.

Junior outside hitter Lindsey Dulude led the team with 17 kills and 11 digs, also recording three blocks.

Freshman outside hitter Kaitlyn McIntyre had 16 digs and sophomore setter Kelly Maxwell led the team with 53 assists.

The star of the night was arguably senior middle blocker Kaitlyn Schultz.

She came away with 15 kills, three digs, four blocks and hit at .538 percent.

“It’s more on the team,” Schultz said. “I can’t do anything without a pass or the setter.”

The Chippewas had positive news on a different note with the return of junior right side hitter Jocelyn VerVelde. She was cleared to play Saturday night and made her presence known late in game four. She recorded a kill and assisted Schultz on a block that clinched the match win.

“It was nice to see Jocelyn (VerVelde) see some action because she has only seen seven or eight sets this season,” Olson said. “That was a pretty big deal for her and she made an impact.”

Eastern Michigan

CMU made its McGuirk Arena debut Thursday against rival Eastern Michigan (13-5, 1-3 MAC) and it opened its new arena in dramatic fashion.

The Chippewas found their stride in game three against the Eagles after dropping the first two games, storming back to win the match in five games.

“We did not play very sharp in games one and two and I felt the arena was pretty darn quite," Olson said. "That wasn’t the arena’s fault though, it was ours. It’s a great facility and once we got going it was great.”

After blowing a 21-18 lead in game one and trailing by two or three throughout game two, the Chippewas fought through game three to avoid a sweep.

The turning point in the match came when Olson called a timeout trailing 20-18.

“We continued to redefine our defensive adjustments,” Olson said. “We we’re challenging them because it was a big moment.”

CMU finally took control of the game and match after a kill by sophomore middle blocker Danielle Gotham and a block to follow it up for the win.

The Chippewas dominated the Eagles 25-16 in game four, setting up a fifth and deciding game.

CMU was able to do something it hasn't been able to in the past few years. It won game five 15-9, completing the comeback.

“A five-set match is a big deal because we haven’t had recent success there,” Olson said. “This will be a big turning point in the season.”

Schultz was arguably the team leader again on Thursday. She recorded a season-high 20 kills.

“It’s very exciting to get my first 20-kill game of the season,” Schultz said. “I didn’t even realize it until I looked up at the scoreboard after the match.”

Sophomore libero Jenna Coates recorded a career-high 28 digs, while Maxwell recorded 62 assists.