ATLANTA - The top-ranked Centre volleyball team concluded its regular season in a doubleheader against a pair of regionally ranked foes in no. 23 Emory and Washington & Lee. The Colonels lost a marathon five-setter against Emory and then fell to W&L in four sets to end the regular season with a 25-3 overall record.
Game 1: Emory 3, Centre 2
- The opening set saw both teams trade the lead back and forth early and often. Trailing 16-15, Centre scored four of the next five points in a rally that proved to put the Colonels up for good.
Kendra Christopher's ace clinched the 25-20 win for the Colonels.
- Emory grabbed the early advantage in the second set and never trailed, leading by as many as seven points at 17-10. Centre clawed back and fought off three set points to cut the deficit to 24-23, but the Eagles scored the next one to even the match.
- In the third set, Centre broke a 14-14 tie with four straight points to grab the lead after another close start to the contest. Emory cut the lead to 21-20, but the two teams alternated points the rest of the way, with a kill from
Elise Grundy securing a 25-23 Centre win.
- Centre went on top in the early stages of the fourth set, leading by as many as four at 13-9 before Emory rallied with seven in a row to grab a lead of their own. Both teams unleashed rallies after that as Centre recaptured the lead at 20-18, but Emory scored seven of the final eight points to win 25-21 and push the match to the brink.
- The Colonels got off to the start they needed in set 5, jumping out to a 5-2 lead, but Emory responded with a huge rally to take control of the set and win the match with a 15-9 victory.
Game 2: Washington & Lee 3, Centre 1
- In the first set, both teams kept it close the entire way, with multiple lead changes and ties. Midway through, the Generals took a small lead and despite Centre cutting the margin to a single point twice, W&L prevailed by a score of 25-21.
- The second set played out in almost identical fashion to the first as neither team ceded much ground. Once again W&L grabbed a slight advantage near the end of the frame. Centre rallied with three straight points to cut the lead to 23-22, but the next two went to the Generals.
- Centre's chances of avoiding a sweep looked dire as the Generals pulled away to a 23-18 lead in the third set, but the Colonels rallied with seven straight points to stay alive with a 25-23 win.
Syd Bietz had three kills during the finishing flurry, with Grundy putting home the clincher.
- The Colonels were unable to maintain the momentum of their third set win as an early 6-0 run by W&L broke a tie and put too much distance between the two teams, with Centre only getting to within two points the rest of the way in a 25-17 Generals win.
NEXT UP
The next matchup for the Colonels will take place at Trinity in the conference tournament semifinals. Having clinched the outright regular season title in the Southern Athletic Association, Centre will face the winner of the Southwestern vs. Rhodes matchup on Nov. 13.
