Volleyball loses to Ball State, Toledo
The CMU volleyball team lost both matches in a weekend for the second time this season.
Central lost to Ball State on Sunday in straight sets after dropping a five-set match against Toledo on Saturday.
“We just weren’t clicking offensively this weekend,” said coach Erik Olson. “We are having a tough time connecting with the setters. It is just an offensive issue that we have to figure out.”
The Chippewas dropped the first two sets against Ball State, losing both in extra points. The team lost by a wide margin in the third set, 25-8.
“Game two was just more of the same from game one,” Olson said. “We just didn’t have anyone step up and game three was just a total collapse.”
The Chippewas struggled to hit around the Ball State defense, as the team had 18 blocks.
Junior outside hitter Lauren Krupsky provided one of the lone bright spots on the court for CMU with five aces. She hit for three in the first match against UT, which gave her eight on the weekend.
Toledo
Central opened the weekend with a 3-2 loss to Toledo. After starting the season 3-0 in five-set matches, the team has faltered, losing the last three five-set matches.
CMU traded sets with the Rockets, but failed to get anything going in the fifth set, as it trailed 7-0 to start the set. The team rallied and brought the score within two points before losing 15-11.
Krupsky led the floor with 19 kills, but her nine errors and 67 attempts led her to a .149 attack percentage. Sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Schultz hit for 13 kills off 23 swings and had two block assists.
“It is really tough to put into words how we feel after losing like this,” Schultz said. “We just didn’t have the passion we should have had. We just didn’t.”
The Chippewas have a two-game homestand this weekend against Northern Illinois and Western Michigan before heading into the MAC Tournament.
Consecutive losses by Northern Illinois last weekend kept CMU in a tie with the Huskies for second in the Mid-American Conference West division.
Olson said there is a level of mental preparation needed before the Chippewas compete again.
“Our setters and hitters really need to do some searching inside and come out with their A-game,” he said. “Our team has played some great volleyball this season and anything can still happen.”
