CMU Volleyball drops Ohio match on “Dig Pink Night”
In front of a pink-adorned home crowd, Central Michigan volleyball (10-6, 3-2) found itself down early and was unable to rally as it fell 3-0 (25-22,25-19,26-24) to Ohio (9-7, 3-2) on Thursday.
“I feel like the last couple matches, besides tonight, I think we've been playing with lots of confidence because we've worked for that and earned that,” said senior outside hitter Anna Erickson. “But my concern at the end of the match, (was) we just kind of were doubting ourselves, and we weren't playing with as much courage as we have been in the past. So we just felt a little bit of doubt on the court tonight. So I feel like we just need to come together and step up in those moments and still be confident.”
Erickson has stepped up for CMU this season, taking a leadership role on the court while also taking the charge of the offensive effort. She continued this trend against the Bobcats with 11 kills on a .267 hitting percentage.
“We came out of the Ball State weekend and we talked about, ‘hey, we've got to put ourselves in a position as a left side and as a leader to take a few more opportunities to be aggressive and take some bigger swings,” said head coach Mike Gawlik. “And I think Anna (Erickson) has done a really nice job of that for the last three matches.”
The Chippewas had trouble getting going in the first set. But back-to-back points from senior middle blocker Maddie Whitfield pulled CMU within four, 18-14. With the momentum back, the Chippewas went on a run to cut the Bobcats' lead to one. However, Ohio took the first set, 25-22.
Junior middle blocker Ely Medendorp finished the first set with five kills while hitting a .625.
The Bobcats went on a five-point run to take the 11-10 lead in the second set. Erickson stepped up to give CMU a slight advantage in the set. However, the Bobcats finished off the second, 25-19, on a 9-2 run.
Senior outside hitter Mallory Hernandez and Erickson got the Chippewas going to start the third set combining for six kills. Three-straight CMU points forced n Ohio timeout, as McGuirk came alive.
Following the timeout, the Bobcats got going Down 23-21, and looking to avoid the sweep, CMU had three-straight kills to pull in front 24-23. But Ohio finished it off on a four-point run to complete the sweep.
“I think what we have to be better at, against every team we play, it's just avoiding runs,” Gawlik said. “And I felt like just runs were happening, you know, we would be in a position where we're feeling comfortable, 17-13, 17-14, and then all of a sudden it'd be a four-point run real fast. And I think that we have to stop the bleeding, so to say, a little bit faster. And I think that comes with confidence, and just sticking with the plan and knowing that are good is good enough.”
Hernandez, put up 10 kills in the match while Medendorp ended with seven kills and two blocks.
CMU will have a quick turnaround as it will face off against Kent State on Friday in Mcguirk Arena at 6 p.m.
“I don't think one game defines us,” Gawlik said. “I don't think one match that we win defines us. I just think it's about the eight or nine-week grind of it all and we have another opportunity tomorrow to try to get a match at home. So I hope a little bit of frustration… motivates the group. But we can't dwell on that either. And there's nothing we're going to do about tonight, tomorrow. And so we've got to shift our focus rather quickly to put ourselves in a position to find more success.”
