COLUMN: Volleyball team is inconsistent
Sometimes no matter how hard you try, staying on track is extremely difficult.
It seems as if Central Michigan University’s volleyball team is constantly in a boat on the verge of sinking. The team is 9-13 overall and a mediocre 4-6 in the Mid-American Conference.
One thing is the biggest key to success in sports: Consistency. The Chippewas have been everything but consistent this season, and it is hard to believe that they ever will at this point.
The Chippewas are young, and have some things not gone their way, but both of those serve as poor excuses.
This was a team that was supposed to challenge for the MAC championship, but as it stands today, they would be lucky to make the conference tournament.
This team has talent. Players such as All-MAC selection Kaitlyn McIntyre, athletic do-it-all middle blocker Angelique White and freshman sensation Jordan Bueter give CMU a good chance at success on paper.
The Chippewas started MAC play on a high-note coming in on a four-game win streak. Since that point, the women have failed to win back-to-back games during the conference season. If that doesn’t scream inconsistent, then I don’t know what does.
The women have trouble closing out matches and holding onto leads. Too many times, teams have made a comeback on CMU, stealing matches in the process.
The only consistency the team showcases is falling behind in matches early. Every match that CMU fails to win seems like déjà vu.
There is still time to get things going in the right direction, but with what I have seen throughout the year, it’s hard to see that happening any time soon.
The team and coach Erik Olson say they talk about consistency each week.
Some of the teams CMU will play in the weekend finale are better than the teams they took on in previous matches, but to be the best you have to take out the best.
The Chippewas are 1-6 against teams with overall winning records in the conference and 3-0 against the teams at the bottom of the MAC.
Potential and living up to it are two different things.
If the women want to get to where they thought they would be, they have to become more undeviating.
They have the players and the coaching staff to make it work, but showing it on the court is where it matters.
