Volleyball loses Kelly Maxwell; will wrap up non-conference play Saturday
The Central Michigan women's volleyball team will face off against Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne Saturday to end their non-conference play.
IPFW Mastodons are 9-2 overall and haven't lost to a Mid-American Conference team. The two teams face off at 7 p.m at McGuirk Arena.
“We played this exact team this spring and tied them 26-24 and 24-26. It's going to be a battle,” head coach Erik Olson said. “Both teams are more offensive this time, so it'll be a little more like Oakland.”
CMU will be without junior setter Kelly Maxwell, who sustained an injury at the Courtyard Midtown Invitational at N.C. State last weekend. Maxwell ranks second in the MAC and 51st in the nation in assists per set (10.73) and leads the Chippewas in total assists with 354.
Freshman Jordan Timmer is expected to earn the start at setter in Maxwell's absence. Her 57 assists ranks second for CMU.
The team's main focus will be shutting down the defense of IPFW’s senior defensive specialist Tessa McGill.
“She has weaknesses, and I would say she is no different than some of the top liberos we see in the MAC,” Olson said. “We understand what she can do, and we know her strengths.”
The Mastodon senior is leading the nation in digs, averaging 6.59 digs per set and leads her team with 244 digs.
“Everyone needs to stay disciplined and just make good plays,” junior defensive specialist Jenna Coates said. “We take too many plays off, so we need to play more together and listen to each other.”
This is the final match before CMU starts up MAC play, which begins Sept. 21 at McGuirk Arena as the Chippewas host Northern Illinois.
“You certainly could use this match as a measuring stick,” Olson said. “Eastern (Michigan) is playing really well, so for (IPFW) to (sweep) Eastern does make it a little bit of a measuring stick.”
