Central closes league volleyball season with Simpson sweep
Central College
PELLA — The Central College volleyball team overcame a sluggish start to sweep Simpson College 25-22, 25-18, 25-22. The Dutch (17-8, 4-3 conference) solidified a home game Tuesday in the Iowa Conference Tournament.
Slow starts have plagued Central at times this season. In the first set, the Dutch fell behind by five points (16-11), before an eight-point run of their own gave them a 19-16 lead that they would not relinquish.
“We had a hard time getting into rhythm tonight,” Coach Kent Clayberg said. “We’ve done a lot of scrimmaging here lately, just so we’re seeing balls in the reception game.”
Central found its offense in the second set, taking a big lead early thanks to a six-point run to take an 11-4 lead, before winning 25-18. They picked up where they left off in the third set, including another eight-point run en route to a 25-18 victory.
Balance was the story for the Dutch attack. The game-high for kills was seven by junior Emily Stoakes (Gladbrook, Gladbrook-Reinbeck HS). A pair of freshman, Mollie Mason (Iowa City, West HS) and Emily McDonald (Orange City, MOC-Floyd Valley HS), each contributed six as well.
“We want to be a balanced offense,” Clayberg said. “We want you to have to pick your poison. This was a good balanced offense. It was just a grind it out kind of match.”
It was also Senior Day for the seven Dutch seniors, all of whom participated on Tuesday night. Jill Schildroth (senior, Reinbeck, Gladbrook-Reinbeck HS) had a career-best four service aces to go along with her 12 assists. Dzenita Bahtic (senior, Urbandale) chipped in 19 digs and Hannah Welter (senior, Lincoln, Neb. Southwest HS) led the Dutch with four blocks. The other four seniors, Alexa Azinger (Pella), Shantell Gish (Cedar Rapids, Prairie HS), Jessica Laflin (Phoenix, Ariz., Horizon Honors), and Claire Stewart (Colorado Springs, Colo., The Classical Academy), were all able to contribute on their Senior Day, as well.
“I’m very proud of the seniors, it was nice to be able to get all of them in,” Clayberg said. “They’ve been a big part of the rebuilding of our program. We’re going to look back on this class as a fundamental part of the rebirth of our program.”
Tuesday’s win assured the Dutch the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. Their opponent is to be determined and will be decided based off the result of Wednesday’s game between Dubuque and Loras.
The Dutch must first turn their attention towards this weekend as they head to Bloomington, Illinois to participate in the Barker Chevrolet Illinois Wesleyan Volleyball Classic. They open the tournament on Friday night at 5:30 p.m. against Lakeland (Wis.).
