PELLA—For the third time this season, the Central College volleyball team won a match in straight sets by defeating Clarke University 25-23, 25-18, and 26-24 Wednesday night.
           
With Central (3-1) trailing 24-21 in the third set and at risk of losing its sweep, senior middle hitter Elyse Johnson (Kirksville, Mo.) took over. She ended the Pride (1-8) rally with a kill and then had back-to-back service aces to tie the set score. Fellow middle hitter Emma Wagler (junior, Des Moines, Roosevelt HS) polished it off with consecutive blocks to end the night. Johnson totaled five kills, four blocks and two aces.
           
"Elyse deserves a lot of credit because in the last two years she has put a lot of effort into her mental game," coach Jeanne Czipri said. "The reps she's done mentally off the court allowed her to be a great server under pressure at the end of that set. It also allowed her to feel comfortable being aggressive when the game was on the line.
           
Wagler finished with nine kills and four blocks.
           
Outside hitter Leslie Snow (sophomore, Olivia, Minn., BOLD HS) and setter Avery Rexroat (sophomore, Macomb, Ill.) both had double-doubles. Snow had 12 kills and 11 digs while Rexroat had 27 assists and 11 digs.
           
"Avery is doing a good job of learning how to be a great setter," Czipri said. "This was Leslie's first opportunity as the L1 and we weren't sure what that was going to look like for her but she found ways to score. She's always a great first contact player, too."
           
Libero Colleen Kenney (sophomore, Taylor Ridge, Ill., Rock Island Alleman HS) had 17 digs. Setter Makyla Ribble (sophomore, Iowa City) and outside hitter Gracie Pierson (junior, Lake City, Minn.) each had three service aces.
           
Central plays four matches this Friday and Saturday in Raleigh, North Carolina at events hosted by Meredith College (N.C.) and William Peace University (N.C.).
           
"We're excited for the time to spend together as a team and make some really fun memories off the court," Czipri said. "I think the cool thing about traveling to a different region and playing teams that you don't know anything about is you have to adapt and figure things out as the match is going on. That is something we need to learn how to be great at to be competitive in our conference."