Warriors are state-ranked
Central’s Lizzie Gifford hits the ball over the net in a volleyball match against North Fayette Valley. A stellar season has led to a state ranking for the team. They are 13th in Class 1A. See story and another photo on page 7.
By Pat McTaggart
Freelance Writer
On September 25, the Central volleyball team defeated South Winn by 3 games to1.
“We knew that it would be a tough night playing against SW for the third time,” Coach Derek Bergan said. “We had played them twice in tournaments and we knew they would be hungry to try and take one from us. The first two sets we felt that we had full control as we won 25-14 25-18. In the third set, however, we really struggled to keep that momentum as we spotted SW a lead and couldn’t climb back into it. In the fourth set we kept SW at bay enough to win 25-23.”
“Lizzie Gifford continued to pace us with 18 kills and it was a very efficient 18 kills as she did a great job of moving the ball around to combat their defense that was focused to make her hit it in different spots,” Coach Bergan continued. “Kiera Beck had a solid night for us as she had a season-high eight kills (at that point), which is a big boost for us as she is our other outside hitter and we need to keep that type of production going forward. Defensively, Mary Kate Wille and Lauren Schroeder found themselves in double digit digs which was huge for us to not give South Winn easy points that would have allowed them to maybe sneak another set from us forcing us to go five.”
September 27 found the team in West Union playing North Fayette Valley. Central won the match 3-1.
“This was one of our most balanced offensive nights, as we had three girls in double digits in kills—Lizzie Gifford with 15, Hannah Erickson, 14, and Kiera Beck, 11.” Coach Bergan said. “If we can have three girls in double digits we feel that we can keep most defensives off balance which is a huge advantage to us. Natalie Schroeder also had six kills and she made some great adjustments midgame to get us some big points in the 2nd set.”
“Hannah Erickson and Lauren Schroeder continue to be balanced in assists and have been putting our hitters in great positions all season,” Coach Bergan added. “Zoe Barker and Mary Kate played some tough-nosed defense for us forcing NFV to try and place the ball in places that they don’t normally hit. We also found out that we are now ranked 13th in the state for 1A which is a testament to the hard work and dedication all of our girls have put in to the volleyball program.”
