Central volleyball squad splits at Chicago tourney
Central College
CHICAGO, ILL.—Central College captured a five-set thriller in splitting a pair of matches Saturday at the University of Chicago (Ill.) Gargoyle Classic volleyball tournament.
The Dutch topped Whittier College (Calif.) 25-16, 25-23, 21-25, 23-25, 18-16 before falling to NAIA Trinity Christian College (Ill.) 27-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-15. Senior setter Maggie Snyder (Alexandria, Minn., Jefferson HS) was named to the all-tournament team.
Central brought a fiery offense against Whittier, posting a .323 team hitting percentage. Right-side hitter Liz Ihnen (sophomore, Sheldon) led the charge with 14 kills at .448. Middle hitter Kiley Meyers (senior, Grundy Center) and outside hitter Amy Golly (senior, Ankeny) followed with 13 kills each and Golly had 14 digs. Libero Chelsea Grieger (senior, Pella) had 23 digs and outside hitter Natalie Mason (sophomore, Iowa City, West HS) had 17. Snyder racked up 47 assists and 12 digs.
“We came out with a much more aggressive approach,” coach Kent Clayberg said. “Whittier had a solid club and cranked it up, but we had a very impressive performance. It was a good back-and-forth battle.”
Central had another balanced attack against Trinity, led by Meyers with 10 kills. Middle hitter Jessica Laflin (freshman, Phoenix, Ariz., Horizon Honors HS) and Ihnen put down eight kills apiece and Golly and Kouba each had seven kills. Meyers and Golly recorded five blocks. Snyder had 24 assists and 16 digs and Grieger had 13 digs.
“Trinity’s offense had a lot of movement,” Clayberg said. “Our blocking became unsettled which affected our defense and eventually led to our offense.”
Clayberg was able to experiment with the squad’s personnel.
“We did a lot of mixing and matching and tried a variety of lineups this weekend,” Clayberg said. “We’re still looking for the right combinations to take advantage of the skill sets we have. The players did a nice job rolling with the changes.”
Central returns to Iowa Conference action Tuesday, hosting Coe College at 7:30 p.m. at P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium. The Kohawks are 14-1 overall with a 3-0 league mark. The two squads split their meetings last season. Coe took a 3-1 matchup at the Wis.-Stevens Point Inv. and Central swept the Kohawks 3-0 in league play.
“Coe will be a great challenge,” Clayberg said. “They’re a strong, physical and disciplined club that will put our block and our defense to the test.”
