Fayette, Mo. - For the fourth time in the last five seasons, the Central Methodist Volleyball program punched their ticket to the Heart Tournament Championship game.
The Eagles, who are the No. 2 seed in the Heart of America Athletic Conference tournament, completed a three-set sweep over No. 6 seeded MidAmerica Nazarene Tuesday night inside Puckett Field House.
In addition, the Eagles have also secured a berth into the 2023 NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship Tournament, set to begin later this month. It marks the sixth-straight season the Eagles will compete on the national stage.
Central defeated the Pioneers by scores of 25-8, 25-23, and 25-23.
CMU came out cruising in the first set, hitting an even .500 with 14 kills and no attack errors. The Pioneers struggled offensively in the opening frame, hitting -.111 and committing eight errors.
MNU turned it around in set two, leading Central for a majority of the frame. CMU never trailed by more than three points however, and eventually tied the set at 20-20.
Both sides exchanged points and remained deadlocked at 23-23. Blocks from Annabelle Maassen and Sydney Healy put Central out in front, 24-23, before Callie Henson put the set away with one of her nine kills on the evening.
Trailing 2-0, the Pioneers continued to battle in the third, jumping out to 8-3 lead over Central. Trailing by five, CMU rattled off four straight points to pull within one.
MNU maintained a lead midway through the third at 15-13, before Central rattled off five-straight points to take an 18-15 lead. MidAmerica would eventually take a one point lead late in the set at 23-22, before back-to-back kills from Delaney Miller and a service ace from Addison Butler shut the door on the match.
Healy led the Central attackers with 10 kills for a .375 hitting percentage. The senior from Kansas City also notched four digs and four blocks in the three-set sweep.
Henson followed with nine kills on 16 swings for an even .500 hitting percentage, while Miller followed with eight kills and Joana Milho seven.
Maassen finished the evening with four kills, eight digs, a team leading five blocks, and an assist for good measure. Ryleigh McBurney led the setters with 19 assists while Drew Gayle dished out 13.
Alyssa Smith tallied 12 digs while Krystal Brauner recorded 11.
As a team, Central forced 26 Pioneer attack errors and held them to a .044 hitting percentage for the match.
Central will square off against Heart Regular Season Champion and No. 1 seed Park University in the Heart Tournament Championship Saturday, Nov. 11 at 2:00 p.m. in Parkville, Mo.
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