Volleyball falls to NIU in home opener
In its home opener, the Central Michigan Volleyball team fell to defending Mid-American Conference West Division champion Northern Illinois in straight sets Friday at McGuirk Arena.
The Chippewas dropped to 6-9 overall and 0-3 in the MAC. CMU has lost seven straight sets since dropping both matches last weekend against Ball State and Toledo.
Though CMU finished with more kills than the Huskies, the Chippewas lost the first set 26-24 after leading 21-16. The Huskies used that momentum to win set two 25-22 and the final set 25-19.
“I think we need to put ourselves in a position to manage rallies a little better,” Head Coach Mike Gawlik said. “We do need to be better down the stretch and we need to have leaders step up and create some plays that are going to turn the tide for us.”
Junior outside hitter Jordan Bueter led the Chippewas with 13 kills while sophomore Laura Willson had 10 and freshman middle blocker Jayla Wesley added nine.
Freshman defensive specialist Megan Kern led the team defensively with 13 digs, while Bueter added nine.
“I think we were very amped up,” Bueter said. “Grade wise, we played B volleyball today instead of B+ or A. I think our B will beat other teams B’s.”
For future MAC matchups, Gawlik said his team needs to improve on “challenging the block” to manage rallies and average more kills.
“We know that the block can be a tool for us to get kills by hitting off the block and keeping defenders on their toes,” Gawlik said. “I thought that we were just challenging the block maybe a little bit too low into the seem today.”
The Chippewas return action Sunday at 3 p.m. against Western Michigan at McGuirk Arena.
