Triangular sweep for Central volleyball team
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA — The Central College volleyball team were solid in a pair of wins Friday night in Minnesota, sweeping Martin Luther College (Minn.) 25-21, 25-16, 25-20 and downing Hamline University (Minn.) 27-29, 25-22, 25-20, 25-14.
Central (2-1) had a short turnaround from its season-opening loss against Augustana College (Ill.) on Wednesday but responded well according to coach Jeanne Czipri.
“We talked about tonight as an opportunity to figure things out and we did that,” she said. “We were challenged in different ways tonight. We are learning how to play together and play for each other.”
In the opener against the Knights, Gracie Pierson (sophomore, outside hitter, Lake City, Minn.) had 12 kills on 21 attempts. She also had five service aces. Becca Vala (sophomore, libero, Omaha, Neb., Elkhorn HS) had nine digs and Gracie Daniels (junior, outside hitter, Broken Arrow, Okla.) had three blocks. Daniels also had six kills. Adisyn Illg (senior, setter, Johnsburg, Illinois) had a team-high nine assists.
“Gracie Pierson hit well again,” Czipri said. “Gracie Daniels made some things happen.”
Against the host Pipers, Natalie Gaszynski (senior, outside hitter, Huntley, Illinois) had 12 kills and Daniels had 11 more. Amanda Smith (senior, setter, Tipton) had 17 assists and Illg had 16 more. Smith also had five service aces. Vala had 18 digs in the nightcap.
“We did a really job of getting Natalie and Gracie going,” Czipri said.
As a team, the Dutch had 23 service aces between the two matches.
“We served really aggressively,” Czipri said. “We’re excited about what we’re doing as we are getting our touch back.”
The Dutch are back in St. Paul on Saturday, going to St. Catherine University (Minn.) for matches against the Wildcats and the University of Wisconsin – Stout.
