Volleyball finishes Oakland Invitational with first victory
In exciting fashion, volleyball won its first match Saturday afternoon with a 3-2 comeback victory against Villanova.
The victory comes after losing its first two matches of the Oakland Invitational.
Led by the efforts of seniors Kelly Maxwell and Jenna Coates, the Chippewas won the final three sets behind Maxwell's 58 assists and 18 digs and Coates' 25 digs.
A long final match in the tournament had CMU giving its all, putting previous struggles in the past and paving the way for the 20-18 final set victory.
It started just like the match against Oregon State had begun: with the Chippewas behind, losing the first two sets 25-18 and 25-21. This time, however, they managed to fight back, winning the next two sets by final scores of 30-28 and 25-15, tying the match at two games all.
Maxwell and Coates, along with junior outside hitter Kaitlyn McIntyre, were responsible for igniting the fire under the team to the five-set victory. McIntyre contributed 21 digs.
This victory comes after two disappointing losses to Oregon State and Oakland.
The Chippewas failed to get much going in their first match of Saturday’s action against the Beavers.
The team managed to keep the score close early, falling 25-22 in the first set and 25-21 in the second set, only to drop the final set 25-18. In each of the three sets of the morning match, CMU managed to gain an early lead, but could not close it out.
Despite the sweep at the hands of Beavers, McIntyre was a source of positivity. She excelled, especially on the defensive front. McIntyre lead the team with 11 kills and she also compiled a total of 18 blocks. McIntyre also contributed two assists and two digs for her team’s effort.
Another source of pride for CMU was Maxwell. Leading the team with 11 assists, Maxwell paved the way for a plethora of scoring plays throughout Saturday’s match.
A theme like the one from Saturday morning was also prevalent the night prior in the Chippewas loss to Oakland University. In Friday’s loss, CMU could not put the pieces together late against the Golden Grizzlies, despite starting the match off strong with a first set victory.
