Oct. 7, 2009

Central falls at Simpson

INDIANOLA—The Central College volleyball team dropped a four-set decision to Iowa Conference rival Simpson College Wednesday night, 25-16, 18-25, 25-19, 25-18.  

“We couldn’t find our offensive rhythm tonight,” said coach Kent Clayberg. “The one positive we can take away from this match was that we blocked well.”

The Dutch blocking effort was led by Lindsay Jennings (senior, Atkins, Benton HS) and Haley Brillhart (sophomore, Pella), with five stuffs apiece.

Clayberg cited Michelle Ripperger (senior, Urbandale) for her tough play despite being hampered by injury. Ripperger had a team-high 12 kills while hitting .320 on the night for the Dutch. Brillhart added 10 kills and hit .330 for the match.

“Michelle sprained her ankle last night but still had a productive match,” said Clayberg. “She was coming down gingerly on it and couldn’t move around as well.”

The Dutch dropped to 14-7 and 1-3 in league play while Simpson improved to 12-9 overall and 4-1 in the conference.

Central makes another appearance at the Washington-St. Louis (Mo.) Invitational this weekend. The Dutch meet Wis.-La Crosse (4-13) at 5:15 p.m. Friday before facing No. 5 Washington-St. Louis (15-3) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday Central takes on Elmhurst (Ill.) (9-9) at 11 a.m.