Central stays unbeaten in conference volleyball action
Central College
DUBUQUE—The Central College volleyball team recovered its rhythm after a slow start to snag a 24-26, 25-14, 27-25, 25-21 Iowa Conference victory over the Univ. of Dubuque Tuesday night.
Three players recorded double-digit terminations for a balanced offensive attack. Outside hitter Amy Golly (senior, Ankeny) tallied 16 kills while right-side hitter Caitlin Kouba (senior, Dubuque, Wahlert HS) and middle hitter Kiley Meyers (senior, Grundy Center) each had 13.
“Amy was outstanding,” coach Kent Clayberg said. “She was dynamic and diverse and was a real momentum-builder for us. Kiley was very impressive; a force throughout the match and Caitlin was very aggressive.
“We had a good balance and were able to spread our offense once our defense picked up and got us into a faster rhythm,” Clayberg said.
Libero Chelsea Grieger (senior, Pella) had a team-best 24 digs and defensive specialist Liz Sanders (senior, Clive, Valley HS) posted 19. Outside hitter Sara Snead (freshman, Altoona, Southeast Polk HS) had 18 digs and setter Maggie Snyder (senior, Alexandria, Minn., Jefferson HS) logged 34 assists and 14 digs. Setter Jill Schildroth (freshman, Reinbeck, Gladbrook-Reinbeck HS) had 21 assists.
“It’s always good to get a conference win on the road,” Clayberg said. “But we need to find a way to get out of the gate quicker. We started a little flat and were hesitant when Dubuque was aggressive. They seized their chances to come after us when we were on our heels. But we did improve and we played sharp when we had to be.”
The Dutch stay perfect in league play, improving to 3-0 with a 9-2 overall mark, while Dubuque drops to 10-6 overall and 0-2 in the conference.
Central competes in the Univ. of Chicago (Ill.) Gargoyle Classic this weekend. The Dutch open against Benedictine (Ill.) at 4 p.m. Friday before meeting Wesleyan (Conn.) at 6 p.m. Saturday Central takes on Whittier (Calif.) at 11:30 a.m. and Trinity Christian (Ill.) at 1:30 p.m.
“We’ll play some teams we don’t see very often,” Clayberg said. “It’ll be a fun trip and another opportunity to move forward and get better.”
