Volleyball wins nine of last 10 sets, improves to 3-1 in MAC
It has been smooth sailing this past week for the Central Michigan volleyball team.
The Chippewas swept Kent State Saturday after sweeping rival Eastern Michigan Thursday.
Sweeping Eastern was huge,” head coach Erik Olson said. “I told the team as big as that (EMU) match was, every match in the MAC counts as the same.”
CMU won the first set 25-11 Saturday against KSU, but sets two and three weren’t as easy.
The Chippewas won a tight 25-20 set two and needed extra points to finish the sweep of the Golden Flashes, 26-24.
“We got off to a really good start in set one, so we were able to get a lot of different players off the bench,” Olson said.
Sophomore outside hitter Kaitlyn McIntyre led CMU in kills for the fourth-straight match with 13. Freshman middle blocker Angelique White had 10 kills, while senior outside hitter Lindsey Dulude added nine.
Junior setter Kelly Maxwell had 39 assists as she led the Chippewas to a .348 hitting percentage.
“We cleaned up really well in the first game,” Maxwell said. “Dulude had a really nice night on the left side, so that helped to put some balls away for us.”
Defensively, CMU held KSU to a low .174 hitting percentage, despite junior libero Jenna Coates posting a lower than typical dig total of 11.
The Chippewas overall had 37 digs on the night, with Dulude coming up with seven and McIntyre adding six. Maxwell, White and senior defensive specialist Samantha Brawley each recorded four.
“It’s weird because we put up a good number, but we missed a whole lot of digs,” Olson said. “I would have actually liked to see us defend better than we did.”
CMU started the weekend on Thursday night when it won three close sets with the Eagles (25-23, 25-23, 26-24) in McGuirk Arena.
Maxwell directed another efficient offensive attack against EMU with 47 digs. Maxwell averaged 14.33 assists per set this weekend, which Olson said makes a strong case for Mid-American Conference West Division Offensive Player of the Week.
“She should be close to the top (with 14.33 assist per set this week),” Olson said. “It’ll probably put her up for player of the week.”
