Lindsay Jennings spike Aug. 29, 2008

Central pulls upset at Wis.-Whitewater

WHITEWATER, WIS.—Opening the season with four new starters, the No. 22 Central College volleyball team recovered from an early defeat to surprise No. 9 Wis.-Whitewater at the Wis.-Whitewater Invitational Friday evening.

Bethel (Minn.), which was among those schools receiving votes in the national rankings, overcame Central 21-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-21 before the Dutch rallied past host Wis.-Whitewater 25-21, 23-25, 19-25, 25-20, 15-11. The Warhawks were last year’s national runner-up.

Debuting a new offensive system, the Dutch endured a rocky outing against Bethel.

“We weren’t ready to play,” coach Kent Clayberg said. “We were loose and relaxed but in game two, we started poorly and some anxiety set in. The new system is a little unforgiving and if you play a little tentative, it makes you look bad. But Bethel played well and did some good things.”

Clayberg saw dramatic improvement against Wis.-Whitewater.

“Our middle hitters’ offense was non-existent in the first match,” Clayberg said. “Against Whitewater, it was outstanding. Megan Callahan (senior, Dubuque, Wahlert HS) set an extraordinary match. She was very aggressive. Our defense really stepped up and Miranda Kouba (senior, Dubuque, Wahlert HS) was all over the floor.”

Clayberg also cited Ashley Ellingson (sophomore, West Des Moines, Valley HS) and said the Dutch got some key defensive contributions off the bench from freshman Chelsea Greiger (Pella) in the back row.

“Wis.-Whitewater graduated some good players, too, but they’re a very athletic team and to beat a team like that on its home court in front of a big crowd is a great accomplishment,” Clayberg said.

“On the first day you want to see some good things but also some things you can talk about during the time-outs,” he said. “We got some of both. I really feel good about what this team can become.”

Central comes right back at 9 a.m. Saturday against Wheaton (Ill.) before battling another national rankings vote-getter, St. Benedict (Minn.), at 1 p.m.

“It’s not going to be easy,” Clayberg said. “Wheaton’s a good team and St. Ben’s is very strong. They had a young team last year that made the NCAA tournament and have a very physical team. That’ll be a battle.”