Iowa Western topples Central in four sets

September 30, 2015 11:30 pm • By The Telegram Staff

COLUMBUS — The Raiders kept it close at times, but couldn't match Iowa Western's firepower in a loss Wednesday at the Raider Fieldhouse.

National Junior College Athletic Association Division II No. 8 Central Community College fell to Division I No. 8 Iowa Western 25-22, 23-25, 29-27, 25-19.

The Raiders took the second set and had a near comeback win in the first set. However, the Reivers were too much to handle.

"I don't feel like we totally maxed out tonight," Central head coach Mary Young said. "Iowa Western obviously has some talented hitters and a good squad. But I feel like we didn't max out consistently. We turned it on when we wanted, and turned it off when we wanted."

The Reivers started strong and carried the momentum through most of the first set, building a 22-12 lead.

The Raiders battled back with back-to-back kills from Emma Coenen and four straight kills from Payton Chohon to close the gap to 22-21.

But the slow start was too much to come back from, as Iowa Western took the set 25-22.

"Our passing was shaky at best in all of Set 1 and it was still pretty close," Young said. "That's a sign that we weren't disciplined players or disciplined as a team and that was disappointing."

The Raiders took a 14-9 lead in the second set and held on to win 25-23 with kills from Coenen and Hillary Thege to help clinch the set. Chohon had five kills and three aces in the set.

Central had a couple of different chances to take the third set, but was unable to get it done. After the Raiders took a 26-25 lead on a kill from Morgan Nikkila, the Reivers answered with a kill from Maci Coffey. The set ended on a Raider net violation.

The Reivers clinched the match with a 25-19 Set 4 win. Sao Paulo, Brazil, product Gabriella Stazzeri had six kills in the set and 19 on the night.

Chohon finished with 19 kills, four blocks and three aces. Nikkila added 11 kills, Keely Woods had nine and Thege had six.

"Payton did a nice job at the net," Young said. "She was a force and they didn't really have an answer for her, but we needed to spread that out a little bit, especially late. We really weren't able to do that. Not all of our players were having their best night and maybe we can chalk it up to that a little bit."

The Raiders also lost to the Reivers in four sets Sept. 2 and have another shot at them at the Reiver Festival Tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa, this weekend.

"We'll definitely see some good teams over the weekend and it's a big week," Young said. "We really got to bounce back in practice and play hard and with some energy and excitement. Tonight, we really lacked energy from the start. When you play a team like Iowa Western, you have to have energy to get the job done."

Wednesday at the Raider Fieldhouse

Iowa Western (16-5) 25 23 29 25

Central (16-8) 22 25 27 19

* KILLS: Iowa Western - ; Central - Payton Chohon 19, Morgan Nikkila 11, Keely Woods 9, Hillary Thege 6.

* BLOCKS: Central - Payton Chohon 4, Hillary Thege 1 .

* ACE SERVES: Central - Payton Chohon 3.