Volleyball swept by Ohio, tournament hopes in jeopardy
Sophomore middle blocker Jayla Wesley, left, and freshman outside hitter Kalina Smith jump to block the ball at the CMU Volleyball game against Eastern on Nov. 9 at McGuirk Arena.
Central Michigan put their Mid-American Conference Volleyball Tournament hopes in jeopardy tonight as the team was swept 3-0 at Ohio.
The Chippewas (15-12, 7-9 MAC) have not won a game against the Bobcats (16-14, 10-6 MAC) in Athens, Ohio since 1999.
"I thought we needed a lot more from a lot more people," said head coach Mike Gawlik. "We needed to handle the expectation of being in a situation where we knew a win would get us into the MAC Tournament."
After falling in an early 6-0 drought, CMU stormed back to tie the first set at 20. However, the slow start proved to be too much for Central Michigan to overcome as Ohio took set one 25-22.
The Chippewas failed to gain any momentum in the second set as the Bobcats dominated 25-12 taking a two set lead.
CMU had a .079 hitting percentage in throughout the first two sets.
Ohio didn't let there foot off the gas jumping out to a commanding 18-8 lead. Central Michigan made a late run cutting the lead to just three before Ali Lake put the nail in the coffin to give the Bobcats at 25-21 win and the sweep.
"I thought we fought hard," Gawlik said. "I just think our execution needed to be at a higher level."
The Chippewas finished hitting .106 percent with Jordan Bueter and Kalina Smith each registering a team best seven kills.
Central Michigan is currently tied with Eastern Michigan for eighth place in the MAC, but a Northern Illinois victory over Toledo tonight could put all four teams into a four-way tie for eighth.
"This is a young team, an inexperience team around the MAC Tournament," Gawlik said. "I think we'll better at it next time with some experience."
The Chippewas will be waiting for a phone call from the league office as an official tiebreaker has yet to be determined.
