Volleyball fires on all cylinders at Hofstra Tournament
After three tournaments under its belt to begin the season, it is apparent that the volleyball team has one thing on its side: momentum.
In sports, momentum can never be taken for granted. It can be the difference between winning and losing an important match and it has been known to carry on week to week. With the season progressing, the Chippewas appear to have momentum on their side, as they have earned a runner-up finish at the Hofstra Tournament.
"We have momentum but it's a short week," said head coach Erik Olson. "We fixed a lot of things last week in training in regards to our blocks and pass efficiency."
This comes despite finishing the tournament with a loss against the host, Hofstra. This match started off close, with CMU and the Pride exchanging victories in the first two sets, 25-21 and 25-23. However, Hofstra began to pull away after a narrow two-point victory in the third set, followed by a 25-21 victory in the fourth.
The Chippewas second match came with better results. Facing Princeton, CMU managed a sweep with scores of 25-23, 25-22 and 25-18. In this match, senior setter Kelly Maxwell had 37 assists, along with six digs and four kills.
Junior outside hitter Kaitlyn McIntyre continued her stellar effort, contributing 14 kills and three digs in her team’s second victory of the tournament, making her second All-Tournament Team in two weeks.
McIntyre compiled 45 kills to go with 21 digs in the tournament.
In CMU’s first competition of the weekend, they took on the University of South Carolina Upstate. This match, like its second, ended up with the Chippewas sweeping their opponent. Beating the Spartans 28-26, 25-21 and 25-21, CMU looked as if it was on cruise control early on for the Hofstra Tournament.
The victory was a true team effort, with CMU receiving quality contributions from a variety of sources. Maxwell had 43 assists in the team’s first victory, while senior libero Jenna Coates contributed with 19 digs of her own. McIntyre had 18 kills in the match.
It seemed that, whenever an important play needed to be made, someone, different every time, stepped up and made it happen.
The Chippewas will regroup in practice this week as they will prepare to travel south for their next task in Statesboro, Ga. at the Georgia Southern Invitation.
