Central grinds out five-set volleyball win
PELLA—As the match stretched beyond the 2-hour mark, coach Jeanne Czipri decided it was time to let the Central College volleyball team’s top hitter help decide it.
And senior outside hitter Krissa Larson (Waverly, Waverly-Shell Rock HS) responded, hitting .444 in the decisive fifth set as the Dutch outlasted Nebraska Wesleyan University 23-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-11, 19-17 before a noisy but exhausted P.H. Kuyper Gym crowd.
“We took a little too long to get Krissa going,” Czipri said. “We made a quick lineup switch and just said let’s feed our best hitter the ball and she came away at the end for us.”
The win solidifies Central’s spot in next week’s six-team American Rivers tournament, as the Dutch, 15-10 overall, moved into a three-way tie for fourth place with the University of Dubuque and Simpson College at 4-4. Nebraska Wesleyan dropped to 9-13 overall and 1-7 in the league. The Dutch will play in a first-round match next Tuesday but seedings are not finalized.
Central had to survive three match points to finally subdue the Prairie Wolves in the fifth set.
“They are always a team that matches up well against us,” Czipri said. “(Coach Rayna Cain) does a great job with her group so I always know it’s going to be a battle. They’ve got some talented kids so I think what was great is we had to earn every point. I think that makes a win feel even better because it wasn’t handed to us.”
Czipri liked the way the Dutch delivered in tense moments.
“Part of it is we’ve just gotten smarter,” she said. “We’ve gotten more gritty and I think we’re learning how to play to win when it’s scary to play to win. If you play not to lose, you’re going to lose every single time so you might as well go for broke and swing away.”
Larson, who had four kills in the decisive fifth set, had a match-high 18 on the night, hitting .400. Outside hitter Taryn Hintz (sophomore, Primghar, South O’Brien HS) had 11 kills with five block assists and hit .375 while outside hitter Gracie Pierson (freshman, Lake City, Minn.) added nine kills with three ace serves.
Czipri singled out setters Amanda Smith (junior, Tipton) and Adisyn Illg (junior, Johnsburg, Ill.), who had 25 and 23 assists respectively. Illg also had three ace serves.
“I think our setters don’t get enough credit,” Czipri said. “I think they’ve taken a lot of information this year and are starting to learn how to be great playmakers and decision-makers instead of just great setters. I’m really proud of them.”
Central closes out the home slate and the regular season this weekend with the Sutphen Invitational. The Dutch meet North Park College (Ill.) Friday at 7:30 p.m. in P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium before tackling Monmouth College (Ill.) Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Also at Central, North Park faces Iowa Wesleyan at 5 p.m. Friday and Nebraska Wesleyan returns to take on Monmouth at 7:30 p.m. Saturday Monmouth and Iowa Wesleyan meet at 10 a.m. as do Illinois College and North Park. Nebraska Wesleyan and Illinois College close the tourney with a 3 p.m. match.
“We’re going into the weekend looking for some momentum,” Czipri said. “North Park has one of the most efficient middle hitters in the country so that’s going to be a great challenge for us. And Monmouth runs a really good tempo offense. We’re looking at both of these matches to really help prepare us for whoever we battle next Tuesday night.”
