9/6/14 • By The Telegram Staff

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- The Central Community College volleyball team survived arguably one of the toughest invitationals in the nation Friday and Saturday.

But the Raiders did more than survive, they thrived, picking up wins against National Junior College Athletic Association Division II, No. 3 Illinois Central Community College and No. 4 Johnson County Community College.

Central's only loss over the weekend was to No. 1 Parkland Community College 25-23, 25-22, 25-17.

That's been a trend for the Raiders -- playing at their highest level against the toughest competition.

"We do rise to the occasion and play those teams," Central head coach Mary Young said. "Our players were eager to see that competition and I think we got into a better groove with that."

Perhaps the Raiders get that mentality from their coach. After Central was dropped by Parkland, Young was already itching for a rematch.

"When I walked off the court, I thought, 'I'd play them again in a heartbeat,'" she said. "You can look at that (Parkland loss) in a variety of ways. Realistically, we were right in there for the first set and the second set. We let the third set get away from us a little bit, but by no means did we embarrass ourselves."

Young is confident the Raiders are right among the best in the nation, but she's not pushing her squad to reach that No. 1 title.

"Realistically, we're right in the mix and we don't need to be No. 1," she said. "We just need to stay in the mix so we can make it interesting as the season progresses."

Central started the tournament, beating No. 4 Illinois Central 21-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-20.

"That was a really challenging match and we showed a lot of poise and a lot of grit," Young said. "We were really satisfied with that."

The Raiders then walloped Lincoln Land Community College 25-17, 25-11, 25-20 before edging No. 3 Johnson County Community College 25-23, 25-16, 12-25, 25-21 in a battle.

"That was a really spirited match," Young said. "There weren't many balls that went down fast. It was a long, long match. For us, our middles Payton (Chohon) and Megan (Anderson) were such a threat at the net and I can't say enough about our outsides (Skyler Erickson, Morgan Nikkila, Hillary Thege and Makaleigh Yantzie)."

Young was also pleased with the Raiders defensively and setter Cassidy Yong.

"I give credit to our players -- they played hard," Young said. "Those teams we played -- they battled the whole time. I have to give it to them. As a unit, we played well."

More specifically, Young was impressed by Keely Woods, who was given more responsibility during the tournament.

"She hasn't seen a lot of action and she stepped in and played with a lot of poise and did everything we asked her to do," Young said. "She did wonderful."

Central plays at Southeast Community College Wednesday.

Saturday at Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Match 1

Central (10-2) 25 25 25

Lincoln Land 17 11 20

* KILLS: Central - Payton Chohon 9, Morgan Nikkila 9, Keely Woods 6

* BLOCKS: Central - Woods 3, Nikkila 2, Chohon 1

* ACE SERVES: Central - Shayla Trotter 2, Skyler Erickson 2, Chohon 2

* ASSISTS: Central - Cassidy Yong 27

* DIGS: Central - Yong 10, Erickson 8, Molly Gotschall 8 Match 2

Central 25 25 21 25

Johnson County 23 16 25 21

* KILLS: Central - Payton Chohon 15, Skyler Erickson 15, Megan Anderson 15, Morgan Nikkila 13

* BLOCKS: Central - Chohon 3, Anderson 2

* ACE SERVES: Central - Molly Gotschall 2, Shayla Trotter 1

* ASSISTS: Central - Cassidy Yong 51

* DIGS: Central - Erickson 21, Yong 13, Gotschall 12

Friday at Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Match 1

Central (8-2) 21 25 25 25

Illinois Central 25 23 23 20

* KILLS: Central - Skyler Erickson 13, Megan Anderson 13, Morgan Nikkila 11.

* BLOCKS: Central - Anderson 3, Payton Chohon 2.

* ACE SERVES: Central - Shayla Trotter 1, Erickson 1.

* ASSISTS: Central - Cassidy Yong 45.

* DIGS: Central - Molly Gotschall 20, Yong 15, Erickson 15.

Match 2

Central 23 22 17

Parkland 25 25 25

* KILLS: Central - Erickson 10, Anderson 10, Chohon 7.

* BLOCKS: Central - Anderson 2.

* ACE SERVES: Central - Yong 2, Erickson 1.

* ASSISTS: Central - Yong 35.

* DIGS: Central - Gotschall 13.