Bellevue, Neb. - The No. 11 Central Methodist volleyball program pushed their record to a perfect 8-0 as they swept the GoSarpy.com Labor Day Classic this past weekened in Bellevue, Neb.
The Eagles began the weekend with two wins over (RV) Texas Wesleyan and (RV) Dakota Wesleyan.
Central started Friday with a sweep over the Rams by scores of 25-10, 25-22 and 25-22. Grace Unnvik led the team with 10 kills and a .500 hitting percentage on 18 swings. The senior also contributed three solo blocks and three blocks assists, averaging an impressive three blocks/set.
The CMU offense was also paced by the duo of Callie Henson and Jordan Wolfe, who each recorded eight kills. On the defensive side, Giulia Sasso and Krystal Brauner collected 10 and nine digs respectively, while Marina Alonso recorded a match-high 17 assists.
Against (RV) Dakota Wesleyan, CMU pulled off a classic five set thriller (23-25,25-23,23-25,25-17, 15-11). Henson had a massive game for the Central, leading the offense 25 kills and a dominant .676 hitting percentage. Wolfe added 19 kills and Unnvik followed with 12. CMU finished the match with 12.5 team blocks with Brauner adding 31 digs. Alonso, Avery Hays, and Gabi Owczarek recorded 33, 24, and 11 assists respectively.
Day two featured two top 20 matchups for Central as they faced No. 15 Westmont followed by No. 19 Oklahoma City. In the first match of the day, CMU claimed another five set thriller over Westmont, (25-19, 25-18, 18-25, 20-25, 15-5).
Henson once again led the Eagles on offense, picking up 19 kills with a .531 hitting percentage, while Unnvik added nine kills and six blocks. Annabelle Maassen tallied five kills and nine digs to match Brauner who added eight digs and three service aces.
The pair of Alonso and Hays combined for 41 assists, as Alonso collected 26 and Hays 15.
In the final match of the classic, CMU once again used extra sets to defeat Oklahoma City (25-16, 22-25, 20-25, 25-19, 15-7). CMU relied on a balanced offense to pull out the win as Unnvik, Wolfe, Maassen, and Henson all tallied double digit kills. Maasen collected a double-double with 18 digs and 12 kills, as did Hays with 27 assists and 10 digs.
At the conclusion of the weekend, Henson ranks No. 5 nationally in hitting percentage while Unnvik sits at No. 7 in blocks/set.
Central continues non-conference action with a trip to St. Louis to compete in the Missouri Baptist Triangular beginning Friday, Sept. 10 2:30 p.m. against Xavier (La.).
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