Marshall, Mo. - The No. 20 Central Methodist Volleyball program completed its third-straight sweep with a victory over rival Missouri Valley College Tuesday night in Marshall, Mo.
The Eagles are winners of five of their last six games, and improve to 9-5 and 3-1 in the Heart of America. Missouri Valley drops to 6-9 and 1-3 in conference action.
Central worked quickly in set one, hitting .467 in the frame which included 17 kills and only three attack errors. CMU led from start to finish in the opener, ultimately winning the set 25-9.
Missouri Valley battled back in set two, keeping even with Central at 6-6 through the first 12 points. Central would go on an 8-2 scoring run which included two service aces from Alyssa Smith to take a 14-8 lead. The Vikings ultimately tied the match at 19-19 before a service error put Central back out in front.
The Eagles closed the set scoring five of the final six points to earn a 25-21 victory in set two and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Set three mirrored the back-and-forth intensity from set two, as both sides were even at 19-19. Back-to-back service aces from junior Gabi Owczarek swung the momentum in Central's favor, as they took a 21-19 lead. Annabelle Maassen and Joana Milho recorded back-to-back kills to put the Eagles up four.
Missouri Valley came within two points, before Callie Henson shut the door with a kill for the final point of the set, giving Central a 25-22 victory and completing the three-set sweep.
Maassen had her best game of the season, racking up 12 kills on 25 swings for a .480 hitting percentage. The Jefferson City native also recorded eight digs, six blocks, two services aces, and an assist for good measure.
Both Henson and Milho added seven kills while Henson picked up a pair of blocks in the win. Morgan LeBlanc finished the evening with six kills, four digs, and two service aces.
Owczarek dished out a team-high 21 assists while Ryleigh McBurney added 16. Owczarek also recorded five digs and two service aces.
The defensive effort was shared between Smith and Krystal Brauner, who recorded 10 and nine digs respectively to lead the way.
Overall, Central concluded the match hitting .275.
CMU returns home to host Clarke University Friday, Sept. 22 at 7:00 p.m. inside Puckett Field House.
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