SLIDESHOW: Volleyball win streak snapped in MAC leader matchup Saturday
The volleyball team’s six–match winning streak came to an end Saturday night when it lost to Bowling Green in a match between two Mid-American Conference leaders.
The MAC West leading Central Michigan dropped a five-set match to the MAC East–leading Falcons.
CMU got out to a 7-2, lead in the final set, but the Falcons went on to a 13-4 run to take the set and the match.
“We were good enough to get the win tonight,” head coach Erik Olson said. “We were up 7-2 and we sided out at 35 percent, and that’s the worst in a while.”
CMU used an aggressive serving approach in its six–match winning streak, but it hurt them Saturday with 17 service errors.
“(The service errors are) why we lost set one,” Olson said. “Single handedly, I put that right there.”
The Chippewas went on to win set two 25-21 and forced a pivotal fifth set with a 25-23 win in set four before dropping the final set to the Falcons.
The Chippewas were able to extend their winning streak Thursday night against Miami (Ohio) in a four-set match.
But Olson feels his team has been grinding through the past few weeks and that’s not what he prefers with his team.
“I don’t want to be grinding; that’s not our process,” Olson said. “I want us to work on becoming a smoother (team), and I want each player to come in and do what they’ve been trained to do.”
CMU is now at the halfway point of MAC play and sits in first in the MAC West at 12-7, including a 6-2 record in conference play.
Despite being atop the conference, Olson said he would like to see his team improve.
“I like that we’re 6-2; I don’t think we’ve ever been that at this point of the season,” he said. “But I’m not satisfied with where we’re at, and we’ve trended down.”
