Two more Dutch volleyball victories at home tournament

PELLA — Winning all six sets by at least five points, the Central College volleyball team rolled past Alverno College (Wis.) and Concordia University – Chicago (Ill.) in straight sets Saturday.

The Dutch (12-3) dropped the Inferno (1-11) 25-14, 25-10, 25-12 and the Cougars (6-11) 25-12, 25-20, 25-19. The victories extended Central’s winning streak to nine.

“We’re excited about the growth that we’re seeing,” Czipri said. “We’re also really excited for having a nine game winning streak.”

In the Alverno match, middle hitter Hana Edgerton (senior, Grundy Center) paced the team with six kills. Edgerton and fellow middle hitter Kayleigh Fite (junior, St. Louis, Mo., Trinity Catholic HS) had six and four kills, respectively against Concordia.

“We were able to find our middles more, which is always great,” Czipri said. “I think Kayleigh and Hana did an amazing job, which opens up the rest of our offense.”

In addition to the two middle hitters, three other members of the Dutch rotation had at least five kills against the Cougars. Outside hitter Natalie Gaszynski (freshman, Huntley, Ill.) led the way with seven.

“We did a great job of running a balanced offense,” Czipri said. “We don’t need anybody to be the star, we just need everybody to play well.”

Setters Alyssa Lewton (sophomore, Ankeny, Centennial HS) and Amanda Smith (freshman, Tipton) both had solid outings. Lewton had 17 total assists on the day and Smith had 22.

The Dutch will play on the road in the American Rivers Conference for the first time this season at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake on Thursday night.

“It’s always tough to play away,” Czipri said. “It’ll be a good test for us defensively and offensively to see what we can do.”