At Berea tonight, the Centre Volleyballers continued their amazing start to the season by gaining not only a sixth victory in seven trips to the gate but also the fifth time that a match has gone five games.  (Furthermore, it was the fourth occasion when the Colonels, who have yet to surrender more than 10 points in a game five, had first to win a game four).  The determined Mountaineers scored first in game five and tied Centre at two, then saw the "Gold" outscore them 13-4.  The five games went 20-25, 25-15, 25-27, 25-20, 15-6.

Head Coach James Neyhouse, perhaps just pleased to escape Berea with a tough victory, did not hang around for a press conference.  However, irrepressible senior Kary Stivers (Louisville, KY), one of the Centre captains, substituted ably with this analysis:  "Once we cut down on our mistakes and played our game, the rest was left up to the scoreboard."  Stivers has been sidelined with a severely sprained ankle, but still makes her presence a positive force for her team.  (However, Neyhouse did comment a few days ago that the best place for his senior setter's presence was the court.)

Statistically Lydia Prevost, the senior middle from Knoxville, TN, and junior outside Celia Moser (Troy, OH) paced the Colonels with six blocks apiece.  Sophomore Paige Poggemeier (St. Charles, MO) led in digs with 18, and Catherine Janszen, from Cincinnati, OH, and a senior, offered strong support with 12.  Sophomore setter Elizabeth Janszen (Cincinnati, OH) had 39 assists.

Leading the offense for Centre were junior Suzanne Asbury (Louisville, KY) who produced 15 kills while hitting .379, and Prevost, whose respective numbers were 11 and .400.  Bardstown, KY sophomore Beth Cecil had a dozen kills.

The Colonels were in double figures with service aces with Asbury and sophomore Abbigale Jacobi (Louisville, KY) at the top with three each.  Jacobi's classmate Erin McGrath (Louisville, KY) aced the Mountaineers twice.  Shelby Foote made her first ever appearance on the court for Centre College, and the freshman from Prospect, KY marked the occasion with two consecutive aces at a critical juncture in game five.  Coach Neyhouse explained his "thinking" in premiering Foote under such pressure:  "Both Paul" (Assistant Coach Paul Bowling) "and I felt that Shelby was capable of handling the situation, and she really came through for us."

Centre Volleyball is scheduled to have several more opportunities to "come through" this fall.  Next up for the team is Berry away on September 21.  Losing only once in the Southern Athletic Association, the Berry team swept to both the regular-season and tournament championships in 2012.  It is worth noting that the one defeat came at the hands of the Colonels, who, nevertheless, failed to measure up to the Vikings' consistency.  As for the current campaign, Neyhouse offered this assessment:  "Berry is again solid.  We, though, have responded well to strong teams and situations.  If we do that the rest of the way in conference play against all of our opponents, we can compete.  I am optimistic, but our team play on the court is really the only determinant of our successes."