Central volleyball team splits opening matches at Illinois Wesleyan
Central College
BLOOMINGTON — The Central College volleyball team had mixed results during the first day of the Barker Chevrolet Illinois Wesleyan Volleyball Classic Friday.
The Dutch (18-9) defeated Lakeland (Wis.) 25-18, 25-18, 21-25, 25-21 in their first match before falling to hosts Illinois Wesleyan 25-14, 25-21, 21-25, 25-17 in the nightcap.
In the opener Central was able to pick up a victory against a Lakeland squad (14-16) it lost to in straight sets earlier this season.
“It was against a team that we played very poorly against earlier this year and ended up losing to,” said coach Kent Clayberg. “So to come out and handle them pretty solidly was a good feeling. But more than that I liked the way we played. I liked the way we attacked against them.”
After a successful first match Clayberg did not like the way his team came out to start the second match against Illinois Wesleyan (19-11).
“We just came out really timid and let Wesleyan set the tempo for the match,” said Clayberg. “If you empower a good team, they are going to make you pay and that’s exactly what Wesleyan did. They came after us. We found ourselves playing from behind and playing on our heels the entire night.”
The Dutch dropped the first two sets to the Titans before rallying to win the third. Illinois Wesleyan then took the fourth set to win the match.
“We really controlled game three from beginning to end and looked very strong,” said Clayberg. “Then in game four we got off to a slow start again.”
Clayberg thought many of his players performed well Friday, but none were better than defensive specialist Dzenita Bahtic (senior, Urbandale). Bahtic recorded 38 digs in the first match and followed it up with a 35-dig performance in the second match.
“Dzenita was unbelievable,” said Clayberg. “I was really impressed with her.”
Middle hitter Hannah Welter (senior, Lincoln, Neb., Southwest HS) was another standout for Central Friday. She had 13 kills in the second match and recorded four blocks in each match. Clayberg liked seeing Welter play back up to her potential.
“Hannah Welter got back into a nice groove tonight,” said Clayberg. “She has been off for a little while, so getting her back was really important.”
The Central coach also singled out the play of middle hitter Emily McDonald (freshman, Orange City, MOC-Floyd Valley HS) for her 13 total kills and nine total blocks on the day, and outside hitter Shantell Gish (senior, Cedar Rapids, Prairie HS), who recorded 13 total kills.
The Dutch will continue play in Bloomington Saturday, taking on North Park University (Ill.) (8-21) at noon and battling MacMurray College (Ill.) (11-15) at 2 p.m.
