Volleyball struggles continue in fifth-straight MAC loss
Five straight losses.
That's what the women’s volleyball team has to deal with after being swept Saturday night by Northern Illinois in straight sets.
The loss drops the Chippewas to third in the Mid-American Conference West Division and sixth in the MAC.
"We need to get our middles going; our offense is based on our middles and right sides," head coach Erik Olson said. "The last three or four weeks our, outsides have had to carry a heavy load, and that's not CMU volleyball."
Olson said he thinks he knows how to get back on track.
"We have to fight, and I'm not talking about matches, I'm talking about practice," Olson said. "Right now, every position needs to step it up."
The most recent losses came against Western Michigan and Northern Illinois, who both swept the Chippewas. CMU defeated WMU earlier this season.
"We played a lot better, but Northern (Illinois) played some of its best ball of the year," Olson said. "Those are two good teams, and we're working on getting back on the right track."
The losing streak started against Bowling Green when the Chippewas lost at home in five sets. The team hasn't won more than one game in a match since the loss to the Falcons and has lost eight-straight sets.
Following BGSU, the Chippewas went on the road and faced Buffalo and Akron where it fell to both teams in four sets. The loss to the Bulls marked just their second win the MAC season.
"Our passing started to break down and struggle during the Akron and Buffalo weekend," Olson said. "That kind of reared its head again (at WMU and NIU)."
Prior to the losing streak, CMU was on a six-game winning streak and only had one loss in the MAC, which came from NIU.
"We just have to weather the storm and fight for every contact and make it better," Olson said.
