Courtesy of MAC Sport Information Departments
Central Michigan 3, Eastern Michigan 1
Box Score
YPSILANTI, Mich. – Make it eight straight wins, and an unblemished ledger in the Mid-American Conference, for the Central Michigan volleyball team.
The Chippewas got 15 kills from Savannah Thompson on Thursday as they downed Eastern Michigan, 18-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-20, in a MAC match at the Eagles' Convocation Center.
CMU improve to 13-2, 3-0 MAC. Eastern is 5-10, 0-3.
How It Happened
Eastern scored seven consecutive points in jumping to a 15-6 lead in the first set, and eventually held off the Chippewas, who, despite dropping the set, appeared to gain momentum that they would ride throughout the rest of the night.
"We rebounded from a really disastrous start," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "We used our second timeout to re-establish our offense so we could get some momentum going for set two and beyond. Outside of that initial burst where EMU jumped on us, I thought we outplayed them in the second half of the first set.
"We made a couple of adjustments to our lineup in sets two and three, and I thought it put us in a better position to capitalize on some players who were playing well.
"We won a close one in set two, I thought it could have went either way. I thought we grinded out sets three and four. I don't know if we brought our absolute top game today, but gritty competitors find a way to win one point at a time. It wasn't the prettiest match, but I liked the team's response to a tough first set."
Leaders
In just her third game back from injury, Thompson led the Chippewas in both kills and digs (18).
"(Thompson) carried a big load for us offensively," Gawlik said. "I thought she took some big swings, and some responsible swings, not always hitting the ball as hard as possible, but making EMU defend a lot of the court.
"That's what she brings to us, in a wonderful way. She makes teams defend a lot of different things against her. Her contribution on the serve receive effort, and offensively, is something that can't be understated."
Also for CMU, Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez added 12 kills and had a team-high .476 attack percentage, while Maddie Whitfieldadded eight kills on a .316 attack percentage in her first game back from injury. She posted four blocks, sharing team-high honors in that category with Anna Erickson.
"She's getting her legs back underneath her, and getting back into game shape," Gawlik said of Whitfield. "That long run EMU had in the first set, she got stuck out there, and didn't get a break. I thought she did a nice job of rebounding from a tough start in the first set. She hit .000 percent in the first set, but found a way to hit .316 for the game. She got better as the match went on."
CMU setters Grace Butler and Kendall Braate combined for 42 assists, while Kalina Smith, who also had eight kills, and Megan Kern each had 16 digs.
Numbers
CMU finished with an attack percentage of .186. The Chippewas attacked at a .314 rate over the final two sets after posting a .056 percentage in the first two. The Chippewas recorded 55 kills, their season high for a four-set match.
Next
CMU will play its first home game in a month on Saturday (8 p.m.) when it entertains Kent State in a MAC game at McGuirk Arena. The Golden Flashes are 7-8, 0-3.
Ohio 3, Kent State 0
Box Score
KENT, Ohio – Senior outside hitter Lizzie Stephens (Dallas, Texas) picked up her 1,000th career kill as Ohio (10-6, 2-1 MAC) swept Kent State (7-8, 0-3 MAC), 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-16), on Thursday evening at the Memorial Athletic Center in Kent, Ohio.
"Every road win in the MAC is a good win," head coach Deane Webb said. "We excelled offensively throughout the match and our defense improved as the match continued."
Stephens became the 10th member of the 1,000 kill club in the 25-point rally scoring era with her fourth kill of the night. Stephens ended the night with 10 kills on 25 swings, hitting .320. She added four digs.
"We're all excited for Lizzie (Stephens) to reach this impressive milestone," Webb added. "She made good choices as an attacker tonight and it was fitting that she for highest hitting percentage of the year on her way to 1,000 kills."
Junior middle blocker Tia Jimerson (Sugar Hill, Ga.) led the way for Ohio with 11 kills on 15 swings to hit a career-high .733. Jimerson had four blocks (one solo, three assisted) in the sweep.
"Tia (Jimerson) consistently put pressure on Kent State," Webb said. "She put pressure on by scoring and created space for others as well."
Junior opposite Maggie Nedoma (Brook Park, Ohio) had nine kills and hit .250 with just two errors. Freshman outside hitter Olivia Margolies (Galena, Ohio), redshirt sophomore Dahlias Bouyer (Brownstown, Mich.) and graduate transfer outside hitter Shayla Phillip (Columbia, S.C.) all had three hammers.
Junior setter Vera Giacomazzi (San Vendemiano, Italy) dished out 36 assists and helped Ohio hit a season-best .323. Giacomazzi helped Ohio post 42 kills in the sweep.
Junior libero Macy Reihing (Lexington, Ky.) had a match-high 19 digs for Ohio, while the Bobcats outdug Kent State, 44-42. Nedoma had nine for the Bobcats while Giacomazzi added six. Ohio had eight players record at least one scoop.
The Bobcats had four blocks as a team. Jimerson led the way with four while Giacomazzi had two and Margolies had one.
Ohio found the floor for six aces. Reihing and senior defensive specialist Meredith Howe (Grand Rapids, Mich.) had two while Giacomazzi and freshman defensive specialist Ciara Livingway (Lake Orion, Mich.) had one.
The Bobcats committed just 10 errors over the three sets, hitting .324 in the first set and .323 in the second and third set. Ohio held KSU to 35 kills and a .240 attacking clip. After Kent State hit .375 in the first frame, OU cooled the Golden Flashes off, holding KSU to a .129 attacking clip in the second set and a .216 attacking clip in the third.
Ohio will continue MAC play on the road on Saturday at Eastern Michigan. First serve is set for 5 p.m.
