Dixon, IL- The Carl Sandburg College volleyball team bounced back from a first-set loss to beat Sauk Valley 19-25, 26-24, 25-14, 25-22 on Tuesday night for its 10th straight victory and to remain alone atop the Arrowhead Conference standings.
The defending champion Skyhawks (9-12, 2-2) led 22-19 in the second before the Chargers (18-4, 4-0) showed some serious resolve. Sandburg tied it at 22 on a Cora Vyhnanek (West Prairie) block, and the Chargers won the final two points of the set on an ace and a kill from Hannah Thompson (West Prairie).
Sandburg, among Others Receiving Votes in this week’s NJCAA Division II rankings, ran away with the third set, closing it out with six straight points on the serve of Jordan Price (Fulton).
Sauk Valley jumped to a 6-1 lead in the fourth, but the Chargers rallied to take an 11-10 lead. The Skyhawks forged a tie at 22-all before Sandburg won the last three points to finish off the victory.
Freshman Peyton Bowman (West Prairie) had 18 kills and just two errors while posting a .571 hitting percentage to lead four Chargers with double-digit kills. Bowman also had a team-leading four blocks for Sandburg.
Thompson had 15 kills, 10 digs and four aces for the Chargers. Josalyn Owens (Lincoln) also reached double figures in kills and digs, with 10 and 11, respectively. Price finished with 11 kills and a pair of aces.
Vyhnanek handed out 52 assists, leaving her one shy of matching her season high, and libero Haley Stevenson (Galesburg) had a team-best 15 digs for the Chargers.
Sandburg will step out of conference play to host Illinois Central at 6 p.m. Wednesday at John M. Lewis Gymnasium.
