Volleyball takes game two of tournament behind strong defense
The Central Michigan volleyball team rebounded from Friday’s season-opening five-set loss to Auburn with a sweep of UW-Green Bay Saturday afternoon.
CMU (1-1) relied on a strong defensive effort to take the match from the host team, forcing the Phoenix to a low .035 attack percentage and 23 attack errors.
The Chippewas recorded 54 digs on the day, led by junior libero Jenna Coates who had 26, while sophomore outside hitter Kaitlyn McIntyre had 13 digs herself. The team also recorded 10 block assists and a solo block, led by freshman blocker Angelique White, who had four blocks (one solo).
Offensively, it was senior outside hitter Lindsey Dulude leading the way for the Chippewas with 12 kills. Fellow senior outside hitter Val DeWeerd recorded eight kills on the night, as did McIntyre.
Junior setter Kelly Maxwell directed the offensive effort with 35 kills, giving her an average 10.1 assists per game in the tournament.
CMU won the first two games by scores of 25-20 and 27-25, before running away with the third game 25-14.
In the third game, head coach Erik Olson changed up his starting lineup, replacing junior middle blocker Danielle Gotham, who has been dealing with a knee injury, for sophomore middle blocker Hallie Enderle.
The Chippewas didn’t miss a beat without Gotham on the floor as Enderle recorded four kills and a block assist in her first appearance of the season.
CMU closes the Country Inn Suites Tournament at 5:30 ET against Drake, who was swept by both UW-Green Bay and the Tigers already.
