The No. 10 Central Methodist volleyball program posted a 2-1 record this past weekend. The ladies  traveled first to Canton where they defeated Culver-Stockton College in straight sets Friday night, followed by a split against Olivet Nazarene and No. 19 Columbia College Saturday. 

The Eagles began the weekend with a three-set sweep of Culver-Stockton College (25-11, 25-12, and 25-22).  Senior Jordan Wolfe led the Central offense with 10 kills on 20 swings paired with five digs and a block. Freshman Sydney Healy followed closely behind with eight kills, while sophomore Delaney Miller tallied seven. 

Freshman Yenne Schepers dished out a match-high 19 assists, while junior Marina Alonso recorded 17 assists. Sophomore Krsytal Brauner recorded 14 digs, while both freshman Annabelle Maassen and senior Sydni Basler tallied seven. 

Junior Rebecca Neighbors and freshman Hannah Marcee recorded three blocks apiece. Overall, the Central defense held the Wildcats to a .010 hitting percentage. 

Central then hosted a triangular featuring the Eagles, Olivet Nazarene and No. 19 Columbia College Saturday afternoon at Puckett Field House. Prior to their match against ONU, the Eagles recognized their 2021 senior class. CMU opened the day with a three-set sweep of the Tigers (25-18, 25-23, and 25-14).

Sophomore Callie Henson led the CMU offense with 17 kills on 26 swings, good enough for a .577 hitting percentage, while Maassen nearly reached double-digit kills with nine. Alonso collected 27 assists while freshman Gabi Owczarek nearly cracked double figures with nine. 

Brauner tallied 20 digs, followed by Basler with two. Miller also recorded five kills and four blocks. 

The Eagles concluded the weekend with a Top 20 matchup against No. 19 Columbia College, falling in five sets to the Cougars (25-22, 17-25, 25-16, 21-25, and 12-15). 

Both team were nearly identical in attack percentage, as the Eagles posted a .271 percentage compared to .285 for the Columbia College. The duo of Henson and Wolfe both recorded double-digit kills with 19 and 16, respectively, while Marcee added eight. Alonso, Schepers, and Owczarek dished out 28, 14, and 10 assists apiece.

Brauner once again led the defense with 19 digs, along with two service aces.  Sophomore Avery Hays and Owczarek also tallied two service aces.

The Eagles’ overall record now stands at 24-5 and 14-2 in Heart play. Central hosted defending NAIA National Champion Missouri Baptist Tuesday, in Puckett Field House. That contest began after The Fayette Advertiser went to press. Central fell to the Spartans in four sets back on September 11 as part of the Missouri Baptist University Spartan Invitational in St. Louis.

Central will return to the court on Friday against Graceland in Lamoni, Iowa and then again against Peru State in Peru, Nebraska on Saturday. Next Tuesday, the opponent will be Evangel in Springfield.