Volleyball prepares for NCAA Tournament

By Mark Rudi
Western Herald

(Robert Youngs / Western Herald) Western Michigan setter Jillian Mitchell, who has tallied 1348 assists this season, and the 26-6 Broncos volleyball team will open the NCAA tournament this Friday in Dayton, Ohio against the University of Dayton Flyers.

For the first time since 2000, the Western Michigan University Volleyball team will be going dancing. Going to the “Big Dance” that is.

The Broncos (26-6, 14-2 Mid-American Conference) received an at-large bid for its 10th visit to the NCAA Tournament. The Brown and Gold will face the University of Dayton Friday night at the Frericks Center in Dayton, Ohio.

“It’s really an honor. It’s something the girls have worked for and we’re excited on their behalf,” head coach Colleen Munson said. “We’re thrilled to be in and excited to extend our season.”

“It’s a great feeling,” junior outside hitter Michelle Moore said. “I don’t know how to explain it because we’re so excited to have this opportunity.”

After the Broncos’ 3-0 loss to Valparaiso University last Saturday night, emotions were very low on the squad and all they could do was hope and pray that the NCAA Selection Committee would not overlook them. But in just 24 hours, emotions went from very low to very high when Western Michigan popped up on the screen during the NCAA Volleyball Selection Show on Sunday night.

“Our attitudes changed within seconds. Especially since the selection show and we were one of the first five teams announced,” junior setter Jillian Mitchell said. “One of the girls said it was just like a somber mood to jumping up and down on the couch.”

The Broncos are one of three MAC teams to make the tournament. Ohio University, who won the MAC’s automatic bid by winning the conference tournament, and Miami University of Ohio were also selected. The Bobcats will face Yale University Friday in University Park, Pa., while the RedHawks will take on Middle Tennessee State University Friday in West Layafette, Ind. This is the first time in history three MAC teams have been selected for the NCAA Tournament.

The Flyers (21-12, 11-2 Atlantic 10 Conference) finished second in the A-10 and are a very experienced team. Dayton was the No. 15 seed in last year’s tournament and hosted first and second matches. The 2007 A-10 Champions defeated Lipscomb University 3-0 in the first round, but then dropped its second round match to Michigan State University, 3-0.

“It’s just another team,” Mitchell said. “We have nothing to lose at all. I think with them being in the tournament the past couple of years, they have a little bit of pressure on themselves.”

The Flyers have a ton of quality wins this season, including victories over No. 6 the University of Illinois, Northwestern University and the University of Louisville. Dayton is also 1-1 against the MAC this season, defeating Miami 3-0 on Sept. 20, but losing to Ohio 3-0 last Friday.

Dayton has a very tall front row and could pose problems for Bronco hitters to get balls past the Flyer front row. UD has a pair of dominant middle blockers in 6-foot 4-inch senior Bethany Akerhielm and 6-foot 6-inch sophomore Lindsey Fletemier. Akerhielm sits with 2.95 kills and 0.64 blocks per set while Fletemier has 3.27 kills and 1.05 blocks per set.

“It’s going to come down to me seeing the block and just reading [the blocks] and knowing what shots I have and not swinging blindly into the block,” Moore said about UD’s front row. “Other than that, no, the height doesn’t really matter.”

However, Munson said Dayton’s tall front row will not change the offense at all and WMU will focus on running their system.

Dayton is also led by senior outside hitter/libero Nicole Bateman, who has 2.95 kills per set and 3.18 digs per set. The Flyers also have a talented defensive specialist in freshman Valerie Akerhelm, who averages 2.77 digs per set. As a team, UD is 36th in the nation with 13.74 kills per set.

Western Michigan is 3-1 all-time against Dayton. The two teams played last season with the No. 15 Flyers beating the Broncos 3-1.

The winner of the WMU/UD match will face the winner of Tennessee Tech University and No. 16 Tulane University on Saturday for the right to go to the Sweet 16. The winner of that match would most likely face No. 1, and defending national champion, Penn State University on the Nittany Lions’ home floor.

The Broncos are 5-foot 9-inch all-time in the NCAA Tournament and are currently on a four-match losing
streak in the tournament. WMU’s last win in the tournament was a 3-0 win over the University of Oklahoma in 1987. The Broncos lost to Northern Iowa University 3-1 in its last appearance in 2000.

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Dec 4 2008. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Cody Kimball
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