BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Centre volleyball capped off its regular season with two more wins as the Colonels swept a doubleheader at the Illinois Wesleyan Invitational. The Colonels defeated Illinois Wesleyan in four sets, followed by a 3-0 sweep against Wisconsin Lutheran.
Game 1: Centre 3, IWU 1
- Centre used a 12-3 run midway through the opening set to turn a deficit into a 16-9 lead. The Colonels withstood a late push by the Titans before winning 25-19 after a kill and an ace from
Abby Swartz.
- In the second set, Centre overcame an early 6-1 deficit to battle back as it became close. With the score tied at 21-21, the two teams alternated the next five points and then
Ally Knueven secured a 25-23 victory for the Colonels with a kill.
- Illinois Wesleyan stayed alive in the third set as an early 6-0 run gave them a lead they would never relinquish, eventually winning by a score of 25-16.
- The fourth set saw Centre battle from behind once again, reeling off seven straight points late to turn an 18-16 hole into a 23-18 lead. Knueven again delivered the final kill as Centre took the match with a 25-20 win.
Game 2: Centre 3, WLU 0
- The opening set saw Centre grab the early lead and keep it, gradually extending the advantage the entire way. Centre scored the final three points on a 25-15 win, with the last one coming from an ace by
Madi Winfield.
- The second set played out in a similar fashion as the first as Centre took and maintained the early advantage. A late 6-0 run made it a 22-10 Centre lead and the Colonels pulled away to a 25-12 victory.
- In the third set, Wisconsin Lutheran held the lead in the early stages, going up by as many as four points at 14-9. The Colonels clawed back, utilizing a 10-1 run to take the lead for good.
Mady Mardock put home the final kill on a 25-19 win to improve Centre's record to 21-5 on the year.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORES
- Knueven and
Syd Bietz tied for a team lead with 14 kills in the win over IWU.
- Centre hit .200 or higher four times across seven sets today, with a high of .381 in the second set against Wisconsin Lutheran.
- The Colonels had 17 aces over both games, including ten against WLU.
June Padilla combined for seven of the 17 aces.
-
Emily Gardner had a combined 64 assists over both games.
NEXT UP
Centre will host the SAA volleyball tournament next week as the top seed. The Colonels will get a bye in the first round and will face the winner of Rhodes vs. Oglethorpe in the semifinal round on Saturday.
