GALESBURG — The Carl Sandburg College volleyball team’s script for Sophomore Night went exactly as planned as the Chargers swept Southeastern (Iowa) 25-17, 25-20, 25-17 on Thursday night at John M. Lewis Gymnasium.
All 10 Sandburg sophomores — Emma Derry (Augusta, Ill./Southeastern), Lexi Strange (Emden, Ill./Hartsburg-Emden), Helena Wyant (Toulon, Ill./Stark County), Grace Ferguson (Monmouth, Ill./Monmouth-Roseville), Adre Vetter (Emden, Ill./Hartsburg-Emden), Camerin Huizenga (Fulton, Ill./Fulton), Sam Head (Fisher, Ill./Fisher), Aleksa Ladd (Minonk, Ill./Fieldcrest), Anna Schierer (Lafayette, Ill./Stark County) and Sam Mayberry (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) — saw action throughout as the Chargers avenged a five-set road loss to the Blackhawks (23-15) earlier this season.
Strange led the Chargers (21-11) attack with eight kills, while Mayberry delivered five and had a team-leading three blocks. Vetter served six of Sandburg’s eight aces while picking up a team-best 11 digs defensively. Derry had a team-high 18 assists and Huizenga handed out seven. Freshman Hannah Thompson (Blandinsville, Ill./West Prairie) put down seven kills for the Chargers.
The Chargers never trailed in winning the first set and pulled away late in the second on Vetter’s serve. Leading 16-14, Mayberry had a kill to open an 8-0 run that also featured two Jordan Price (Fulton, Ill./Fulton) blocks, a Strange kill and a Vetter ace for a 23-14 lead.
After six straight points got the Blackhawks within 16-14 in the third, the Chargers answered with four in a row, capped by back-to-back blocks from Schierer. Another four-point run, this time featuring a pair of Vetter aces, set up match point at 24-16, and Ladd closed it out with an assist from Huizenga.
The Chargers, 7-1 at home for the year, will wrap up the regular season at the Parkland Invite on Friday and Saturday before opening the Region IV tournament at 6 p.m. Wednesday at home, with the opponent still to be determined.
