Dubuque turns back Dutch volleyball team
DUBUQUE — The Central College volleyball team gave itself a chance but came up short in a four-set loss Friday night at the University of Dubuque.
The Dutch (6-13, 1-5 American Rivers Conference) won the third set and were a point away from winning the second set during a 25-15, 27-25, 21-25, 25-18 loss to the Spartans. (10-14, 4-2 conference).
Natalie Gaszynski (senior, outside hitter, Huntley, Ill.) led the team with 15 kills. Gracie Daniels (junior, outside hitter, Broken Arrow, Okla.) added 10 more. Gracie Pierson (sophomore, outside hitter, Lake City, Minn.) and Elyse Johnson (junior, middle hitter, Kirksville, Mo.) had eight and seven, respectively. Amanda Smith (senior, setter, Tipton) was responsible for 33 set assists.
“We did some nice things and got the looks we wanted,” coach Jeanne Czipri said. “But we made a few too many aggressive but untimely errors which kept us from building runs.”
Ivett Flores (sophomore, libero, Windsor, Colo.) had two service aces and 11 digs. Avery Rexroat (freshman, libero, Macomb, Ill.) had 13 digs. Gaszynski also had three blocks.
“We saw a lot of good things tonight, especially with our serve pass game,” Czirpi said. “Normally we struggle to pass well against Dubuque’s servers, and I felt like that was one of the better highlights of the match. I think we also forced them to use all their hitters instead of their two best to beat us. I’m proud of some of the adjustments we made defensively.”
Central plays Loras College Saturday in Dubuque at 1 p.m.
