Volleyball grinds out two wins this weekend, takes over first place
The volleyball team swept the weekend yet again with a four–set win Saturday in Toledo and a five–set win against Ball State on Friday.
Central Michigan got off to a slow start against the Rockets and needed a comeback against the Cardinals to pull off the victories.
“We’ve come together as a team,” freshman setter Jordan Timmer said. “Our motto is 'one point at a time and one ball at a time.'”
The continued winning streak gives the team first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division.
Timmer was the spark the Chippewas needed to get by Toledo Saturday night. Down 18-17 in set two, head coach Erik Olson turned to the freshman and she helped the team to a 26-24 set two win.
“We always talk about the backup setter being the most important part of the team,” Olson said. “It was tremendous to see Timmer go out there for an extended period of time and turn the match around because we were losing control of the match.”
Timmer then started set three, but the team was down 17-14 and went back to the starter, sophomore Kelly Maxwell. CMU would score six unanswered points in route to a 25-23 win.
“Kelly got a chance to rest a little bit and talk to (assistant coach) Theresa (Beeckman) on the bench,” Olson said. “As the match progressed, we got better and that was really critical.”
The Chippewas finished the match against Toledo with a 25-10 blowout in set four. They recorded a .419 hitting percentage with a 90 percent sideout rate in the fourth set, while holding the Rockets to a hitting percentage under zero (-.074).
It was a different story against BSU on Friday, but inevitably the same result.
CMU had a good start and won set one 25-19 with a .344 hitting percentage.
But after dropping sets two and three, it looked as if the winning streak would be snapped and the losing streak against the Cardinals would continue.
“It kind of looked like it was getting away from us again,” Olson said.
Despite not playing their best match, the Chippewas pulled away late in the fourth set to win 25-22 and then won the fifth set 15-13.
“It was a big win because things weren’t going our way,” sophomore outside hitter Kaitlyn McIntyre said.
CMU has taken over first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division with its five-match winning streak.
The Chippewas will look to continue the winning streak at home this weekend when they host Miami (Ohio) at 7 p.m. Thursday. The RedHawks have yet to win a conference match this season.
CMU is at home at 7 p.m. Saturday against Bowling Green, who is unbeaten in the MAC thus far.
