Volleyball returns home for two matches against MAC rivals

By Mark Rudi
Western Herald

(Robert Youngs / Western Herald) Junior setter Jillian Mitchell (center) had 10.88 assists per set in two games last weekend. She will lead the Broncos against the University of Toledo and Ball State University this weekend.

Coming off a two-match weekend split, the Western Michigan University volleyball team returns home this weekend against two Mid-American Conference West Division foes.

The Broncos will take on the University of Toledo Friday and Ball State University Saturday.

The Brown and Gold will enter Friday night’s game off a 3-1 loss to Central Michigan University Saturday. Head coach Colleen Munson believes the team can take a lot away from a loss.

“You learn a lot. You learn about where we’re at and where we need to be,” Munson said. “Overall for the weekend, we didn’t play the style we know how to play.”

Several of the Broncos accomplished personal records during last weekend’s matches. Junior libero Caitlin Strimel broke the all-time digs record in the loss to the Chippewas and now has 1,658 career digs. Strimel snapped the record previously held by Katy Duffy, who recorded 1,641 digs from 2002-2005. Strimel also leads the MAC and is 23 in the country in digs with 4.98 per set.

Junior outside hitter Katie Eberling tied the WMU all-time double-doubles record with her 36 career double-double in the Broncos 3-1 win over Eastern Michigan University Friday. Eberling shares the record with Kathryn Babcock, who recorded 36 double-doubles from 2003-2006.

“It’s not something I really aim for,” Eberling said. “It’s fortunate that I can contribute in the front row and back row, but it’s nothing I look at too much right now.”

Junior setter Jillian Mitchell recorded her 1,275 career assist last Saturday, moving her into tenth all-time for WMU career assists. Mitchell currently leads the MAC and is 25th in the nation with 10.89 assists per set.
“It’s exciting,” said Mitchell, who was unaware and surprised she moved into the top 10. “I have good hitters and good players around me that put me in good situations.”

Junior outside hitter Michelle Moore moved into 10th place on the WMU all-time kills list with 27 kills last weekend. Moore currently is third in the MAC and 49th in the nation 3.84 digs per set, and is 62 kills behind Earlander Taylor for ninth place in the WMU all-time kills list.

But Moore admits, if the team loses, individual records do not matter.

“It doesn’t make me feel that much better cause we lost,” Moore said. “When it comes to records and then we lose a game, I don’t really honestly care about them.”

The Broncos will look to get back on the winning track this weekend. Coach Munson says it will be a tough test for her squad.

“We’ll be working on our side of the court and improving on our side of the game,” Munson said. “[Ball Stare and Toledo are] two very much improved teams since last season.”

The Brown and Gold hope another crowd close to the 1,035 fans that saw WMU defeat Miami University of Ohio 3-1 on Sept. 27 will be on hand this weekend.

“Having fans creates an atmosphere that’s exciting to be in,” Moore said. “It’s exciting to have all those people back you up.”

The Broncos also still lead in the MAC in assists per set (12.84), kills per set (14.13) and are second in the MAC in attack percentage (.239). The Broncos also have one the best defenses in the MAC, leading the Conference in digs (16.86) and opponent hitting percentage (.152).

“Defensively we’re putting ourselves in good situations to run our offense,” Munson said. “We now need to get our offense in the right direction and working on all cylinders.”

The Rockets (9-8, 1-3 MAC) have started their conference season off rough, losing their first three matches to EMU,

CMU, and Ball State 3-0. Toledo associate head coach Greg Reitz says execution has been the problem.

“It comes down to execution,” Reitz said. “The execution has been close, but we have to play well this weekend.”

The Rockets played a rough non-conference schedule, which included losses to Ohio State University 3-0 on Aug. 29 and No. 25 the University of Michigan 3-0 on Sept. 13 in Ann Arbor. The Rockets did however pick up a 3-0 win over Auburn University Sept. 12.

“We thought the schedule would prepare us for MAC play,” Reitz said. “But it didn’t translate well. Hopefully they’ll (Toledo) remember back to those times and execute this weekend.”

Toledo is a very young team and led by two freshmen: outside hitter Amber DeWeerdt and setter Kassie Kadera. DeWeerdt has 3.50 kills per set, while Kadera has recorded 10.60 assists per set. The Rockets also lead the MAC in aces with 1.69 per set.

The Broncos are 20-0 against the Rockets at home and lead the all-time series, 37-8. Western Michigan has beaten Toledo each of the last three seasons.

The Broncos will welcome Ball State (7-11, 3-1 MAC) into University Arena Saturday night. The Broncos and Cardinals, as well as Central Michigan, are currently tied for the MAC West Division lead. BSU comes into this weekend on a three-game winning streak, defeating Eastern Michigan, Toledo, and the University at Buffalo.

Like Toledo, Ball State has a very young team with 10 new members on the squad. At one point during the season, the Cardinals were on a five-game losing streak, but did pick up a win over Big East Conference foe DePaul University. The Cardinals also played two Big Ten teams well, losing to Purdue University 3-0 on Sept. 6 and Indiana University 3-0 on Sept. 19.

The Cardinals have a very balanced offense and Ball State coach Dave Boos said the Broncos are balanced as well.
“I think Western (Michigan) is the most balanced team in the conference,” Boos said. “They are a veteran squad and have a lot of players back, unlike us.”
Ball State is led by their front row of junior outside hitter Julie Breivogel, junior middle blocker Alisha Green and junior opposite hitter Elaina Kakatolis with 2.85, 2.43, and 2.41 kills per set. The Cardinal defense is led by sophomore libero Alyssa Rio with 4.04 digs per set.
The Broncos and Cardinals are even in the all-time series at 33 wins, but WMU has won two in a row and seven out of the last 10. The Broncos are 17-10 all-time versus BSU at home. Boos says it is going to come down to ball control it the Cardinals look to pick up a win.
“We have to have a solid ball control weekend,” Boos said. “We have to match their (WMU) ball control to stay with them offensively.”

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Oct 9 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

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