PELLA—It was a tale of two matches for the Central College volleyball team at its home invitational Saturday as a sweep over Bethany Lutheran College (Minn.) was followed by getting swept against Dominican University (Ill.) in the nightcap.
           
Central (2-1) took down the Vikings (1-2) 25-21, 25-16, 25-20 before losing to the Stars (2-1) 25-22, 25-22, 25-17.
           
"There were some things we did really well," Czipri said. "But also some of the things we need to clean up were put under a microscope in the second match. I don't think we were adaptable in the second match today. Pieces of our game weren't working together."
           
On the outside, freshman Paige Sexton (freshman, Sheridan, Ill., Serena HS) had 12 kills against Dominican and Leslie Snow (sophomore, Olivia, Minn., BOLD HS) had 13 against Bethany Lutheran. Grace Pierson (junior, Lake City, Minn.) had five in each match.
           
"Paige having her college debut and hitting .400 against a pretty good defensive team is something we're really excited about," Czipri said. "I think our pins have put in a lot of work, especially this preseason. All three of them did some pretty good things."
           
Setter Avery Rexroat (sophomore, Macomb, Ill.) had 28 assists in the win and 23 in the loss. Libero Colleen Kenney (sophomore, Taylor Ridge, Ill. Rock Island Alleman HS) had five service aces against Dominican and middle hitter Elyse Johnson (senior, Kirksville, Mo.) had three blocks against Dominican.
           
Gwen Kahlke (junior, Blandinsville, Ill., West Prairie HS) had 15 digs as the libero against Bethany Lutheran and Kenney had 14 as the libero against Dominican.
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Central hosts Clarke in a non-conference match Wednesday night at 6 p.m.
           
"We're excited about our potential, but we've got a lot of work to do," Czipri said. "We'll put our heads down and get to work on Monday."