Columbia, Mo. - The No. 11 Central Methodist Volleyball program picked up its first two wins of 2021, sweeping day one of the Hampton Inn Classic hosted by Columbia College Friday. 

The Eagles began the day with a three-set sweep of Tabor College (25-23, 25-23, 25-21), followed by a four-set win over No. 18 Ottawa University (25-21, 18-25, 25-21, 25-19). 

In the first match of the day against the Bluejays, Central's Grace Unnvik finished the match with 10 kills on 14 swings, good enough for a .571 hitting percentage.

The duo of Delaney Miller and Jordan Wolfe each collected seven kills, while newcomer Gabi Owczarek dished out a team high 18 assists followed by Marina Alonso with 16.  

On the defensive side, junior libero Krystal Brauner recorded nine digs, while Annabelle Maassen added eight and Giulia Sasso collected seven. Brauner also notched four service aces. 

The Eagles concluded the day with a matchup against No. 18 Ottawa University. After splitting the first two sets, Central claimed the next two, earning a four set victory. 

CMU saw three players reach double-digit kills led by Wolfe (15), Unnvik (12), and Maassen (10). Overall Central recorded a .209 hitting percentage compared to just .119 for the Braves. 

Brauner once again led Central with 20 digs, while Maassen picked up a double-double with 10 digs. With her fifth dig of the match, Brauner eclipsed 1,000 career digs, doing so in only 61 career matches in an Eagle uniform. 

Central is slatted to play two more matches Saturday, with the first against John Brown University at 1:00 p.m., followed by a 3:00 p.m. meeting against William Woods. 

#TakeFlight