Thursday, September 25
DeKalb, Ill.
6:00 PM (CT)/7:00 PM (ET)
Central Michigan University
3-10,0-1MAC
2
at
3
Northern Illinois
8-2,1-0MAC
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2
3
4
5
F
Central Mich.
25
25
23
22
11
2
NIU
14
20
25
25
15
3
Photo by: Julia Bice '22,M'24 - @jb.jpg10
First Conference Game Ends in Reverse Sweep for Volleyball
9/25/2025 9:50:00 PM | Volleyball
Central Michigan Volleyball dropped the first game of the Mid-American Conference season via reverse sweep to Northern Illinois.
DEKALB, Ill. – The first game of the 2025 Mid-American Conference season resulted in a loss for volleyball against NIU.
CMU drops to 3-10 on the season, 0-1 in MAC play, while the Huskies advance to 8-2 and 1-0 in the conference.
The Chippewas took the first two sets over the Huskies, 25-14 and 25-20. NIU took the final three closely contested sets to win the match (25-23, 25-22 and 15-11)
In the first set, CMU put on a dominating performance. After the set was knotted at seven, it was all Chippewas. The set closed with a 18-7 run for CMU, taking set one, 25-14 over the Huskies.
The second set was a back-and-forth battle. NIU called a timeout at the Chippewas had pulled a 19-16 lead later in the set. Central Michigan walked away with a 25-21 lead in the second set, taking the 2-0 lead in the match.
Early in the third set, Coach Wilson called a timeout at a 4-2 lead for NIU. A 7-3 lead for the Huskies called on freshman setter Molly Beatty to enter the game for the Chippewas. Beatty last appeared in the match against Princeton at Penn State.
The run for NIU ended with a kill from Taylor Cripe, to make it 4-10 for the Chippewas. Central Michigan found themselves down as much as 9-17 but fought back forcing an NIU timeout at 16-19 in favor of the Huskies.
Grace Thomas found the floor with one of her seven kills of the night to tie the set at 21.
Northern Illinois took the third set 25-23 over the Chippewas, avoiding the sweep.
In the third set, the Chippewas trailed 1-4 early on, but battled to get within one at 4-5. A timeout was called by Central Michigan while NIU held a 9-6 lead. Keelyn Muell and Grace Thomas combined for a big block against a Huskie to tie the set at 13, using a 6-0 run to then take the lead, 14-13 over NIU.
NIU took the fourth set, 25-22 over CMU, and sent that match to the fifth. The first five-set match of the 2025 season for Central Michigan.
Early in the fifth set, CMU jumped to a 4-0 lead, NIU answered with a 4-0 run of their own to tie the match. Central Michigan regained a two-point lead, but another 4-0 run from the Huskies gave them the lead at 7-10, forcing a timeout from the Chippewa bench.
Brining it within two, at 9-11, Central Michigan forced a timeout from the NIU bench.
Victor E. Court was full of Maroon & Gold faithful on Thursday night, many of them there to support Keelyn Muell, who is from 40 minutes north of DeKalb.
That crowd was on the edge of their seats as the match was tied at 11, following the NIU timeout.
CMU faced a 4-0 run from NIU to end the set, and ultimately the match.
Natalia Rejment led the Chippewas offensively with 17 kills (.140), seven digs and three aces, scoring 20.5 points. Keelyn Muell charted 49 assists and was a part of five blocks, while Abby Olin collected two solo blocks. Taylor Cripe and Olin both recorded two aces on the night.
The Chippewas will take the overnight trip to Kalamazoo where they will take on the Western Michigan Broncos on Friday night at 6 p.m.
For the latest news and updates on CMU Volleyball, follow the team in X (@cmuvolleyball) and on Instagram (@cmuvolleyball).
CMU drops to 3-10 on the season, 0-1 in MAC play, while the Huskies advance to 8-2 and 1-0 in the conference.
The Chippewas took the first two sets over the Huskies, 25-14 and 25-20. NIU took the final three closely contested sets to win the match (25-23, 25-22 and 15-11)
In the first set, CMU put on a dominating performance. After the set was knotted at seven, it was all Chippewas. The set closed with a 18-7 run for CMU, taking set one, 25-14 over the Huskies.
The second set was a back-and-forth battle. NIU called a timeout at the Chippewas had pulled a 19-16 lead later in the set. Central Michigan walked away with a 25-21 lead in the second set, taking the 2-0 lead in the match.
Early in the third set, Coach Wilson called a timeout at a 4-2 lead for NIU. A 7-3 lead for the Huskies called on freshman setter Molly Beatty to enter the game for the Chippewas. Beatty last appeared in the match against Princeton at Penn State.
The run for NIU ended with a kill from Taylor Cripe, to make it 4-10 for the Chippewas. Central Michigan found themselves down as much as 9-17 but fought back forcing an NIU timeout at 16-19 in favor of the Huskies.
Grace Thomas found the floor with one of her seven kills of the night to tie the set at 21.
Northern Illinois took the third set 25-23 over the Chippewas, avoiding the sweep.
In the third set, the Chippewas trailed 1-4 early on, but battled to get within one at 4-5. A timeout was called by Central Michigan while NIU held a 9-6 lead. Keelyn Muell and Grace Thomas combined for a big block against a Huskie to tie the set at 13, using a 6-0 run to then take the lead, 14-13 over NIU.
NIU took the fourth set, 25-22 over CMU, and sent that match to the fifth. The first five-set match of the 2025 season for Central Michigan.
Early in the fifth set, CMU jumped to a 4-0 lead, NIU answered with a 4-0 run of their own to tie the match. Central Michigan regained a two-point lead, but another 4-0 run from the Huskies gave them the lead at 7-10, forcing a timeout from the Chippewa bench.
Brining it within two, at 9-11, Central Michigan forced a timeout from the NIU bench.
Victor E. Court was full of Maroon & Gold faithful on Thursday night, many of them there to support Keelyn Muell, who is from 40 minutes north of DeKalb.
That crowd was on the edge of their seats as the match was tied at 11, following the NIU timeout.
CMU faced a 4-0 run from NIU to end the set, and ultimately the match.
Natalia Rejment led the Chippewas offensively with 17 kills (.140), seven digs and three aces, scoring 20.5 points. Keelyn Muell charted 49 assists and was a part of five blocks, while Abby Olin collected two solo blocks. Taylor Cripe and Olin both recorded two aces on the night.
The Chippewas will take the overnight trip to Kalamazoo where they will take on the Western Michigan Broncos on Friday night at 6 p.m.
For the latest news and updates on CMU Volleyball, follow the team in X (@cmuvolleyball) and on Instagram (@cmuvolleyball).
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Team Stats
CMU
NIU
Kills
60
51
Errors
29
26
Attempts
164
155
Hitting %
.189
.161
Points
80.0
72.0
Assists
55
46
Aces
11
7
Blocks
9
14
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
3
Blocks
1
Kills
17
Aces
2
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
2
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
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