Des Moines, Iowa – The Central Methodist volleyball team is heading back to the Heart Tournament Championship for the second straight year, after upsetting Grand View, the No. 1 seed in the North Division and No. 2 overall in the conference, in four sets; 25-21, 18-25, 25-21, 25-19, Friday night in Des Moines, Iowa. 

With the win, CMU clinches the second automatic berth into the NAIA National Tournament, improving their record to 13-4 overall. The Vikings suffered their first loss of the season, falling to 15-1. 

In the first set, the Eagles and Vikings exchanged leads before CMU went on to win the first set, 25-21.

Central dropped the second set by a score of 25-18 but responded with increased pace, winning the third and fourth sets by scores of 25-21 and 25-19 respectively. 

Grace Stumbaugh led the team with 14 kills on 27 swings, finishing with a .519 hitting percentage. She also added five blocks. Callie Henson followed with nine kills, while Jordan Wolfe added eight.

Sophomore libero Krystal Brauner led the defense with 19 digs, followed by Genna Nickelson with 13 and Annabelle Maassen with 12. Elise Hardesty-Irvin dished out a team-high 34 assists. 

As a unit, the CMU defense held Grand View to 0.139 hitting and forced 34 attack errors. The Eagles finished the match with 10 total team blocks. Stumbaugh was the driving force at the net with five block assists. Wolfe and Maassen each recorded three block assists.

Central will square off against No. 1 seeded Park University in the Heart Championship Monday, March 8 at 7:00 p.m. in Parkville, Mo. The Pirates just edged CMU in five sets back on Oct. 30 in Fayette. 

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