ATLANTA - The Centre volleyball team, ranked no. 8 in this week's AVCA poll and no. 6 in the NCAA's NPI ratings, entered this weekend's matches in a three-way tie atop the Southern Athletic Association rankings with Rhodes and Berry. Already owning one head-to-head victory over Berry, the Colonels defeated Rhodes in straight sets to assume sole possession of the conference lead.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
- The opening set proved to be the closest set of the contest. Centre used an early run of eight straight points to grab a 10-4 lead and never looked back as Rhodes could only close to within four points the rest of the way. Reigning SAA Offensive Player of the Week
Kendra Christopher put home the clinching kill in a 25-18 win for the Colonels.
- In the second set, the Colonels unleashed an offensive explosion, hitting .542 as a team, their highest hitting percentage in a set thus far this season. The Colonels gradually extended their lead as they took advantage of Rhodes miscues, eventually winning 25-16 as Christopher again delivered the final kill.
- Centre scored eight of the first nine points in the third set to take the early massive advantage. The Lynx cut the Centre margin to three points before Centre put the game away with a 13-1 run to take their largest lead at 22-7. Consecutive kills from Christopher put the finishing touches on a 25-14 Centre victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Christopher led all players with 18 kills, her second 18-kill game in the last week. Her .449 hitting percentage was a career high.
- Centre finished with eight aces for the match while preventing the Lynx from recording a single ace.
-
Elle B Smith finished with 36 assists, recording a dozen more assists than Rhodes did as a team.
- The Colonels also held a 42-30 advantage in digs, with
Campbell Miles and
Syd Bietz finishing in double digits.
NEXT UP
The Colonels will look to sweep this weekend's Atlanta pod with a matchup against Millsaps on Saturday.
