Volleyball swept by Dayton
In enemy territory, Central Michigan volleyball dropped its final match of the Dayton/Wright State invitational against Dayton in straight-sets on Saturday.
CMU falls to 5-4 on the year.
“Whenever you play a team that has the clout, the resume of Dayton and you’re playing them in their building, you know you’ve got to come out and lay it all on the line,” said head coach Mike Gawlik. “In a lot of ways, I think we did that. I walk away with a lot more positives than negatives from today’s match.”
How it happened
CMU took an early lead to open the first set, to which the Flyers responded immediately tying the score at five and found their groove offensively as they broke through the 15-point mark. The Chippewas mounted a comeback reducing the Flyers lead down to one point. However, CMU’s offensive attack stalled out, allowing Dayton to rattle off seven-consecutive points to secure the first set 25-17.
Looking to even the match at one, the Chippewas started the second set aggressively, taking a 4-1 lead. The CMU lead didn’t last long as Dayton controlled the pace en route to a 19-16 advantage. With their backs against the wall, the Chippewas took back control off of a 4-0 run. Dayton survived the offensive onslaught for CMU to lock up the second set 26-24.
Dayton entered the third set with the momentum, and after an impressive offensive run found themselves up 11-4. With their backs against the wall yet again, the Chippewas began to cut into the deficit, but Dayton seemingly had an answer to everything CMU tried to close the door on the Chippewas, winning the third set 25-18.
Key Performers
Senior outside hitter Savannah Thompson, senior outside hitter Sierra Gray and freshman outside hitter Linnea Willer finished the match with seven kills each.
Senior setter Grace Butler led the Chippewas in assists with 18. Senior setter Kendall Braate added 10 assists.
Key Stats
Dayton recorded seven service aces to the Chippewas two.
The Flyers tallied five more blocks than CMU.
What’s Next
The Chippewas will begin play at the Michigan State Tournament on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 2:30 p.m. against Oakland.
