Olson preaches atmosphere during annual maroon/gold scrimmage
The Central Michigan volleyball team held its annual maroon and gold scrimmage Saturday with the gold team sweeping the match 3-0.
But the score isn’t necessarily what the scrimmage was all about.
Head coach Erik Olson wants to create a volleyball atmosphere unlike any other in the Mid-American Conference.
“Home atmosphere is so important to us, especially if we want to win a regular season championship,” Olson said. “(We’re looking to introduce) culture and atmosphere and to get our parents, especially the new ones, on the same page, because they’re the generals in terms of fan control, along with marketing.”
A few of the points Olson preached to the fans are yelling "C-M-U" on the bump, set and attack on the first five points of a set and the set winning point, yelling "point Central" after each point and acknowledging a good block, dig, kill and ace.
“We’re looking for no dead spots, exciting calls in a game, great reaction from the crowd and appreciation for great volleyball,” Olson said.
As far as the action on the court is concerned, the Chippewas saw positives from both sides of the net.
“It was great to put our jerseys on and play for a crowd,” outside hitter Lindsey Dulude said. “It’s nice to put (our preseason work) into a game atmosphere, and we were very pleased with how both sides played.”
Dulude was second in kills on the day with eight, two behind sophomore outside hitter Kaitlyn McIntyre who had 10.
One of the big position battles going into the season is at setter between junior Kelly Maxwell and freshman Jordan Timmer. Maxwell recorded 28 total assists and three aces while her counterpart Timmer had 24 assists.
“We put a lot together, and the most important part is that we figured out we had a lot of depth,” Dulude said.
CMU displayed new uniforms during the scrimmage.
Instead of the solid maroon and gold tops and maroon bottoms, the uniforms now sport a strip of maroon or gold along the shoulders and down the side and a gold strip on the bottoms.
“We love our new jerseys; they’re really nice,” Dulude. “New jerseys and new equipment emphasize the whole aura we’re trying to set.”
The team’s sights are now set on Auburn for the start of the regular season Friday in the Green Bay/ Country Inn & Suites Tournament.
“It’s time to fine tune and sit down with our players and establish those roles going into preconference,” Olson said. “Auburn will be a great opponent, and we’ll have to do a great job of executing Chippewa volleyball.”
