Volleyball earns No. 6 seed in MAC tournament
The Mid-American Conference regular season has come to an end and volleyball is sitting at the No. 6 seed of the tournament.
Central Michigan finished the MAC season at 9-7, its first winning record since 2008, and will start the MAC tournament in the same position it did last season when it won the first championship in program history and earned an NCAA tournament bid.
The Chippewas are riding a three-match winning streak and new-found momentum after dropping the previous six matches.
“We just have to keep doing what we’re doing,” sophomore outside hitter Kaitlyn McIntyre said. “Just fix a few things and keep (the winning-streak) going.”
CMU got into a rhythm last season in the MAC tournament. This season it has some momentum going into the tournament and will be looking for similar results.
“At this point, that’s what we’re looking for,” senior outside hitter Lindsey Dulude said. “We have a long season ahead of us still.”
During the three-match winning streak, the offense has hit their stride, led by junior setter Kelly Maxwell, who is averaging 14.46 assists per set.
“Offensively, we’ve been very high-powered and I really like seeing that going into the tournament,” head coach Erik Olson said. “She was one (assist) away from a school record (Saturday against Ball State). Her numbers are insane in terms of assists per game and it has been that way for a while.”
Again, much like last season, CMU will be taking on Western Michigan to start the MAC Tournament.
The Chippewas split the season series with the Broncos, winning at home in four and being swept on the road.
“We’ve been here before as the No. 6 seed and I think even the No. 8 seed could win (the MAC tournament),” Olson said. “Western is playing really well right now and we’re OK with that.”
CMU might have the toughest road to a repeat MAC Championship having to potentially play each of the top-three seeds of the tournament.
“A lot could happen and the top-three seeds could lose their chances for at-large bids,” Olson said. “Last year we were 0-5 in the regular-season against the path we had to take.”
The Bobcats won the No. 1 seed in the tournament with Bowling Green getting the No. 2 seed. Northern Illinois is No. 4 and Akron is No. 5. Eastern Michigan sits at No. 7 and Ball State at No. 8 to round out the final two spots of the tournament.
The MAC tournament will being Friday at the SPIRE Complex in Geneva, Ohio with the championship match taking place Sunday.
