Chargers' VB Advances to Regional Semifinals

With its 3-0 shutout of Nodaway Valley last night, the ACGC volleyball team has advanced to the regional semifinals for the fifth consecutive year and will face Southwest Valley of Corning in Corning on Monday.

Although the Chargers' 3-0 win over Nodaway appears to have been an easy one, it was anything but. Set scores (25-20, 27-25, 25-16) indicate that the match was a contested one between two closely matched teams. With a large following for both schools and supportive student sections, it made for an entertaining evening of volleyball.

After falling behind 7-0 in set one, the Chargers began to rally and eventually tied the score at 10-10 with Jenna Rowley at the serve. ACGC took the lead at 12-11 with Chloe Largent serving. During her service Largent delivered two consecutive ace serves and the Chargers lead had increased to 18-12 by the end of her serve. It was a lead that the home team maintained throughout the rest of the set to claim a 25-20 win.

Set two was the closest of the the three sets, as neither team could pull away. After the Chargers built a 6-2 lead in the early going, the Wolverines came back to take at 9-8 and extended it to four points at 15-11. ACGC made its way back to tie the match at 18 apiece, after which there were seven additional ties until the score reached 25-25.

With NV serving and having an opportunity to take the lead, Alaina Bunde came up with the hit of the night when her kill gave the Chargers a one point lead at 26-25. Bunde then followed that up with a tip that was not returned and ACGC claimed the second set.

After the difficult loss in set two, the Wolverines appeared to lose their edge, and the Chargers led from start to finish in the final set to claim a 25-16 win. With Mercedez Richter coming to the serve and the Chargers leading 1-0, the home team scored five consecutive points.

During the run Largent had two kills, Richter scored an ace serve, and Mollie Gettler came up with a score on a block. The Wolverines never recovered, although they did close their deficit to 16-13. ACGC dominated the close of the set by outscoring Nodaway 9-3 to claim the set and match win.

Offensively for the Chargers, Largent came up with 25 kills, while Gettler provided 37 assists. On defense Jodan Lemke had 13 digs, while Largent had 12 and Hayden Coffman 11. The Chargers' serving percentage was 91%, with a team total of 7 aces.

In the upcoming match with Southwest Valley the Chargers will face a team they lost to at the Griswold tournament on September 11 by scores of 17-21, 21-16, and 15-12. Sounds like two evenly matched teams--should make for a good night of volleyball on Monday.

Set scores:

NV 20 25 16

ACGC 25 27 25