Kelly Maxwell, defense, serving highlight volleyball’s three–game win-streak
Women’s volleyball head coach Erik Olson has his team off to a hot start in Mid-American Conference play this season.
After dropping its first MAC match against Northern Illinois on Sept. 21, Central Michigan won three consecutive matches by winning nine of its last 10 sets.
The Chippewas beat MAC-favorite Western Michigan in four sets Sept. 22 before sweeping Eastern Michigan and Kent State last week.
“We’ve focused on taking everything one point at a time and one moment at a time,” junior setter Kelly Maxwell said. “We are not worrying about what happened before and what could happen in the future.”
Maxwell has been the one directing the team’s efficient offensive attack during its conference run. In the last three matches, Maxwell is averaging 14.2 assists per set, bringing her season average up to 11.66 per set.
“(Maxwell) is demanding the court and controlling the game real well,” Olson said. “I’m real pleased with Kelly … we’re in a real good place right now.”
Olson said he believes Maxwell’s productivity will increase with the team’s improving defense.
“We’re getting better through our defensive system right now, and, as that evolves more, she can control the floor even more,” Olson said. “I think she can be better.”
The defense has held its opponents to a .179 hitting percentage, making their opponent’s hitting percentage this season .174. Coming into the week, CMU held the top spot in the MAC for opponent hitting percentage.
“I think that our defense is pretty good, and we certainly see room for improvement,” Olson said. “But we like a lot of things we see right now.”
Serving has also improved for CMU.
The Chippewas have 16 aces, averaging 1.60 per set in the last three matches. Before the winning streak, they were averaging 1.20 aces per set.
Leading the way has been sophomore outside hitter Kaitlyn McIntyre, who has eight aces during the win streak, giving her a team-leading 14 on the season.
“I think we can do even better, even though our performance has been pretty good,” Olson said. “We definitely have a strategy that we’re working. I just think we can be a little more accurate.”
CMU will head to Muncie, Ind. Friday to take on Ball State at Worthen Arena.
