2008 Woodie Awards
Volleyball attempts to halt losing streak
Team has dropped five consecutive MAC matches
By: Aaron Vigneault
Issue date: 10/19/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
The volleyball team attempts to snap a five-match Mid-American Conference losing streak this weekend against two struggling East Division opponents.
CMU (13-8 overall, 3-5 MAC) welcomes Akron to Rose Arena at 7 p.m. today and Buffalo at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The Zips are 9-12 overall, while the Bulls are 2-22. Both teams are 1-7 in the MAC.
Coach Erik Olson said the toughest part of CMU's schedule is in the past, but that doesn't mean the second half of its MAC schedule will be easy. Olson hopes to carry some of the momentum gained in Tuesday's win at Oakland into this weekend.
"These teams will be hungry and looking for wins," Olson said. "It was important for us to get a win Tuesday and come in with some confidence."
For the Chippewas to snap their streak of conference losses and break the 11-11 all-time tie with the Zips, they will need the continued contributions of junior outside hitter Kate Fissel.
Fissel's powerful jump-serve has her ranked 37th in the country with .57 aces per game and 26th nationally with 4.75 kills per game. Her high rankings have been made possible by the passing and setting of sophomore libero Alexis Lonneman and senior setter Courtney Kersten.
Lonneman has put together some of the best matches of her career recently, recording a career-high 36 digs against Miami and 29 against Oakland. Lonneman's passing has helped Kersten to second in the MAC with 11.63 assists per game.
Tuesday's match against Oakland has created a short week for CMU, but junior middle blocker Whitney Evers doesn't think it will have any negative effects on the team's play.
"We like to play so the more often we get to play, the better," she said. "We're excited because we get to play so much this week."
CMU is tied with Eastern Michigan for third place in the MAC West Division. Central is two games behind Northern Illinois and four behind division leader Western Michigan.
"We've been struggling and need to start winning consistently, and I think we have a chance to come away with two good wins this weekend," Lonneman said.
sports@cm-life.com
CMU (13-8 overall, 3-5 MAC) welcomes Akron to Rose Arena at 7 p.m. today and Buffalo at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The Zips are 9-12 overall, while the Bulls are 2-22. Both teams are 1-7 in the MAC.
Coach Erik Olson said the toughest part of CMU's schedule is in the past, but that doesn't mean the second half of its MAC schedule will be easy. Olson hopes to carry some of the momentum gained in Tuesday's win at Oakland into this weekend.
"These teams will be hungry and looking for wins," Olson said. "It was important for us to get a win Tuesday and come in with some confidence."
For the Chippewas to snap their streak of conference losses and break the 11-11 all-time tie with the Zips, they will need the continued contributions of junior outside hitter Kate Fissel.
Fissel's powerful jump-serve has her ranked 37th in the country with .57 aces per game and 26th nationally with 4.75 kills per game. Her high rankings have been made possible by the passing and setting of sophomore libero Alexis Lonneman and senior setter Courtney Kersten.
Lonneman has put together some of the best matches of her career recently, recording a career-high 36 digs against Miami and 29 against Oakland. Lonneman's passing has helped Kersten to second in the MAC with 11.63 assists per game.
Tuesday's match against Oakland has created a short week for CMU, but junior middle blocker Whitney Evers doesn't think it will have any negative effects on the team's play.
"We like to play so the more often we get to play, the better," she said. "We're excited because we get to play so much this week."
CMU is tied with Eastern Michigan for third place in the MAC West Division. Central is two games behind Northern Illinois and four behind division leader Western Michigan.
"We've been struggling and need to start winning consistently, and I think we have a chance to come away with two good wins this weekend," Lonneman said.
sports@cm-life.com
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