Volleyball swept by Ohio, tournament hopes in jeopardy


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Sophomore middle blocker Jayla Wesley, left, and freshman outside hitter Kalina Smith jump to block the ball at the CMU Volleyball game against Eastern on Nov. 9 at McGuirk Arena. 

Central Michigan put their Mid-American Conference Volleyball Tournament hopes in jeopardy tonight as the team was swept 3-0 at Ohio.

The Chippewas (15-12, 7-9 MAC) have not won a game against the Bobcats (16-14, 10-6 MAC) in Athens, Ohio since 1999. 

"I thought we needed a lot more from a lot more people," said head coach Mike Gawlik. "We needed to handle the expectation of being in a situation where we knew a win would get us into the MAC Tournament." 

After falling in an early 6-0 drought, CMU stormed back to tie the first set at 20. However, the slow start proved to be too much for Central Michigan to overcome as Ohio took set one 25-22. 

The Chippewas failed to gain any momentum in the second set as the Bobcats dominated 25-12 taking a two set lead. 

CMU had a .079 hitting percentage in throughout the first two sets. 

Ohio didn't let there foot off the gas jumping out to a commanding 18-8 lead. Central Michigan made a late run cutting the lead to just three before Ali Lake put the nail in the coffin to give the Bobcats at 25-21 win and the sweep.

"I thought we fought hard," Gawlik said. "I just think our execution needed to be at a higher level." 

The Chippewas finished hitting .106 percent with Jordan Bueter and Kalina Smith each registering a team best seven kills. 

Central Michigan is currently tied with Eastern Michigan for eighth place in the MAC, but a Northern Illinois victory over Toledo tonight could put all four teams into a four-way tie for eighth. 

"This is a young team, an inexperience team around the MAC Tournament," Gawlik said. "I think we'll better at it next time with some experience." 

The Chippewas will be waiting for a phone call from the league office as an official tiebreaker has yet to be determined. 

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