The Central Methodist University volleyball team used a balanced offensive attack, with four players finishing with double-digit kills, as the Lady Eagles earned a five-game win over Missouri Valley College Tuesday night at Puckett Field House. CMU beat the Vikings 25-20, 25-15, 22-25, 20-25, 15-9.
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The Lady Eagles jumped out to a quick 10-3 lead in the first game, taking advantage of five errors by Missouri Valley. The Vikings rallied to within 11-8, before the two teams traded points. A pair of kills by freshman Makenzie Shepard (Leavenworth, Kan.) and a kill by sophomore Sarah Lewey (Kansas City, Mo.) extended CMU's lead to 18-12, giving the Lady Eagles the cushion they needed. Shepard finished it off with another kill to give CMU the 25-20 win in game one.
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In game two, CMU took the lead at 4-3, but Missouri Valley kept it close, pulling to within 8-6 after a CMU error. The Lady Eagles then went on an 8-2 run, including four kills by junior Morgyn Bergschneider (Archie, Mo.), to take control at 16-8. Missouri Valley did not get closer than six points the remainder of the game. Shepard, Bergschneider and senior Erica LaBoube (Berger, Mo.) had two kills each down the stretch, and Lewey and LaBoube teamed up for a block as the Lady Eagles cruised to the 25-15 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
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CMU struggled with errors in games three and four. In game three, the Lady Eagles led much of the beginning of the game, with a kill by LaBoube making it 15-12 in favor of CMU. The teams traded points, with two errors by Missouri Valley, and a block by junior Taylor Reed (Toledo, Ohio) and senior Nikki Torno (St. Louis, Mo.) giving CMU a 22-20 lead. Missouri Valley scored the final five points of the game, including four CMU errors, as the Vikings rallied for the 25-22 win. CMU had 11 errors on Missouri Valley's final 13 points of game three.
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The Viking offense came alive in game four, providing 15 kills, while the Lady Eagles again struggled with errors, committing 10. CMU was as close as 9-10, but a 4-0 run by Missouri Valley gave the Vikings a 14-9 lead. The Lady Eagles rallied to within 20-21, but the Vikings finished off the game and evened the match with three kills on the final four points to pick up the 25-20 win.
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In the decisive fifth game, Reed came out hot, recording three kills and a block with Torno, to give CMU a 6-3 lead early. Missouri Valley got to within 8-7, but CMU went on a 6-0 run to get match-point at 14-7. The Vikings staved off two match-point situations, but a hitting error gave CMU the 15-9 win in game five.
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Four players finished with season-high kills in the match for CMU. LaBoube led the Lady Eagles with a season-high 14 kills and three blocks. Reed recorded double-digit kills for the third time in the last four matches, tallying 13 kills Tuesday. Bergschneider, Shepard and Torno also had season-highs for kills, finishing with 12, 11, and 9 kills, respectively. Torno also had a team-high five blocks. Lewey tallied 51 assists, just four shy of tying her career-high set against Missouri Valley last season. Lewey also added 13 digs, three kills and two blocks in the match. Defensively, senior Sarah Greenlee (Pevely, Mo.) finished with a season-high and team-best 17 digs. Junior Melanie Touchette (Millstadt, Ill.) and freshman Laura Queen (Rogersville, Mo.) added 14 digs each.
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CMU improved to 6-16 overall and 1-7 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference with the win, while Missouri Valley dropped to 13-12 and 3-4. The Lady Eagles have a week off before their final home match of the season Oct. 26 when they host Avila University in a 7 p.m. match. CMU will recognize its three seniors before the match.