Volleyball team set to take on No. 3 Western Michigan to open MAC tournament Friday
Central Michigan will contend for the Mid-American Conference Volleyball Championship, set to kick off Friday in Geneva, Ohio.
No. 6 CMU will play the number three seed, which happens to be rival Western Michigan at 1:30 p.m.
“The key to getting past Western is to be us and play our game,” junior setter Kelly Maxwell said. “It's going to be a battle, and, as long as we play our game, we'll be good to go."
The two teams have already faced off this year twice. CMU won the first match 3-2, and WMU took the second meeting, 3-0.
“They're playing good; probably the best ball in the conference right now, so we have to focus on just them,” head coach Erik Olson said.
The Broncos are 13-3 in the MAC, while the Chippewas are 9-7.
CMU has won its last three games after coming off a six-game losing streak.
The final game of the regular season against Ball State went down to the last point, when the Chippewas pulled out a win in game five of the match, 17-15.
Maxwell helped lead the offense against Ball State, accumulating 79 assists – a career-high for her.
“I never know how many assists I'm at, but it is pretty cool,” Maxwell said. “I looked up at one point and saw McIntyre had 25 kills and Lindsey had like 20. I was like 'wow, we're getting up there.’ It's a product on how well our offense is getting after it.”
Keeping Maxwell and the CMU offense playing the way they are will be important to the Chippewas in making a run in the tournament, which comes from a strong defense.
“Our passers are passing really well right now, and it's allowed her to run a really nice offense,” Olson said. “She's feeling the game really well right now, and our outsides are doing a good job"
