Sophomores Cassie Smieja, Kaitlyn Luksik, Alie Johanneck, Paige Wallevan and Carlie Schroeder completed a successful 2-year Northern Division run as the Central Lakes College Raiders swept Hibbing 3-0 in the final match of the regular season Saturday, Oct. 27.
The Raiders, ranked No. 2 in NJCAA Division III, are unbeaten in the Northern Division in the last two years. The division champions finished with an 8-0 home division record this season.
Sydney Berg knocked out 11 kills, and Paige Wallevan tallied 19 set assists as the Raiders won 25-11, 25-20, 25-17 against a Cardinals team that took them to five games earlier in the season.
Berg also served six aces, and Wallevan and Kylie Porter followed with three each. The Raiders collected 15 aces as a team, and dropped their serving errors to seven in the three games. Service errors were a point of concern for CLC coach Jane Peterson after Friday's match against Rainy River.
"We served a lot better today," Peterson said. "It really helped to take (the Cardinals) out of their game."
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CLC finishes the regular season 24-4 overall with three of those losses against Division II opponents. The Raiders enter the postseason as the No. 1 seed and will host the Region 13B tournament which starts at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2.
Hibbing 11 20 17
Central Lakes 25 25 25
Raider statistics
Sydney Forbord 3 kills, 1 set assist, 1 block
Shelby Berg 1 set assists, 7 digs
Cassie Smieja 4 kills, 1 set assist, 1 ace serve, 3 digs, 3 blocks
Hailey Tihlarik 2 set assists, 2 ace serves, 19 digs
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Maggi Fellerman 9 kills, 3 digs, 3 blocks
Kaitlyn Luksik 2 kills, 6 digs
Kylie Porter 1 kill, 10 set assists, 3 ace serves
Alie Johanneck 1 block
Paige Wallevand 5 kills, 19 set assist, 3 ace serves, 8 digs, 1 block
Sydney Berg 11 kills, 6 ace serves, 4 digs, 1 block
Carlie Schroeder 2 digs
Division: CLC 12-0. Overall: CLC 24-4. Next: Region 13B semifinals at CLC 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friday, Nov 2.
