DANVILLE, Ky. - The Centre volleyball team played its longest match of the 2025 season (2 hours, 40 minutes) as the Colonels battled the no. 13 Berry Vikings to the limit. After five grueling sets, two of which reached extra points, the Colonels emerged victorious for their first ranked victory of the season.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
- The Colonels played very well in the opening set as they led for almost the entire duration. Trailing 23-19, Berry made a late move and scored five points in a row to force a set point. After an errant serve tied the score,
Abby Swartz came through with a block and a kill to give Centre the early lead in the match with a 26-24 victory.
- The second set belonged to the Vikings, who scored five out of the first six points and never trailed, eventually pulling away to a 25-17 win to even the match at 1-1.
- Berry kept the momentum for most of the third set, grabbing the early lead once again and going up 21-16. The Colonels faced their first set point at 24-20, but staged a furious rally in the final stages to tie the game at 24-24 on a kill from
Hollye Tate. After trading the next two points, the Colonels regained the lead at 26-25 and
Syd Bietz put the finishing touches on an incredible 27-25 comeback victory with the final kill.
- The fourth set played out in a similar fashion to the second as Berry jumped out early and never let Centre gain any momentum, pushing the match to the brink with a 25-21 win.
- In the fifth set, Centre finally got off to the hot start they needed, scoring six of the first seven points. Berry cut the Centre deficit to a single point five separate times, but Centre had the answer each time and finished off the upset with a 15-13 win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Bietz led the Colonels with 18 kills and finished with a game high 20 digs.
- The Colonels held a 12-8 advantage in aces over the Vikings, led by
Madi Winfield with five.
NEXT UP
Centre will celebrate Senior Day as the Colonels play Oglethorpe on Sunday afternoon.
