College Volleyball: Raiders stub toe in national quarterfinals

Central Lakes College's Ashley Abear reaches for a shot in the back court against Monroe Community College in the opening round of the NJCAA Division III Volleyball Championships Friday at the Regional Sports Center in Rochester. More photos from the opening round are available at postbulletin.com/gallery Scott Jacobson / sjacobson@postbulletin.com

By Joe Lindholm

November 13, 2015 at 9:05 PM

ROCHESTER - Rachel Mathias had an impressive afternoon and teammates Kaitlynn Christen and Jenny Skoog were key parts of a victory over Northampton Friday afternoon at the NJCAA Division III Tournament at the UCR Regional Sports Center.

Unfortunately the game against Northampton was the second of the day for the Raiders after they dropped their quarterfinal match to Monroe. It means that CLC will end its season with a matchup against Lorain for the consolation championship at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

Last week CLC head coach Jane Peterson had cautioned that seedings didn't mean much for the national tournament. CLC was seeded No. 3 with a record of 26-2 and matched up against Monroe Community College, the No. 6 seed, which entered the tournament with the best overall record (43-1).

The first set against Monroe was filled with nerves along with passing and serving errors by the Raiders. However, a tip from Ashton Kapphahn and a block from Journee Howard gave CLC a 6-3 lead.

Monroe took advantage of errors and a strong attack led by Rose Ayala, Dayle Taber, and Chelsey Luce to take a 17-11 lead. CLC responded with two points on a block from Howard and a tip from Ashton Kapphahn as it fell 25-16 in the first game.

"It was a lot of fun, but a different atmosphere and a lot tougher for us this year," said CLC sophomore Ashley Abear. "We started out mentally tough but the game was a lot quicker than what we were used to and I don't think we played as well as we can."

In Game Two, the Raiders appeared to have their game back on track as they took a 7-2 lead on a kill from Mathias and a tip from Kapphahn to make it 14-11. That was the last lead for the Raiders as Monroe tied the game at 14, and went on to win 25-18.

There was no magic formula for a comeback as Monroe led from the beginning of Game Three and closed out the match with a 25-18 win. Mathias knocked down six kills and was followed by Skoog with five. Kapphahn tipped 18 set assists, and Abear tallied 12 digs.

"We weren't as ready as we could have been," said Mathias "We did talk about what they were going to bring but I think they came out and wanted it more than we did."

Peterson said a factor was the size and strength of Monroe and the Raiders lack of a response to that.

"They were more powerful than us," she said. "They were bigger and stronger than what we are used to seeing. We have been practicing the fundamentals of serving and receiving and passing, and we just didn't do those things very well."

Heads couldn't be down for long as Raider players had about 20 minutes to regroup for a consolation semifinal against Northampton. The Raiders came out strong and swept Northampton 3-0.

Mathias was in attack mode the entire match as she recorded 12 kills along with eight blocks. Skoog and Christen also had nine kills each. Kapphahn led a stronger passing game as she finished with 34 set assists, while Abear defended well with 22 digs.

"She started with two big blocks in the first match and was our leading attacker both matches," Peterson said of Mathias. "She is a bigger and stronger player than some of our other smaller players that have to be a little bit craftier. That was a good sign."

Things almost didn't go well in the first game as the Raiders led 12-4 after a service ace from Skoog. Northampton did get back into the game but the Raiders still led 23-19 after a service error by Northampton, but the Spartans went on a four-point run to tie it at 23. A tip from Kapphahn and a block from Mathias secured the win at 25-23 for CLC.

The next two games were close but the Raiders led for the majority of them with a 25-19 win in Game Two. They finished off the match with a 25-23 win in Game Three on a kill from Skoog.

Although they felt a great deal of disappointment in the first match, the Raiders can earn a trophy with a win Saturday.

"I think maybe part of it is the pressure with having a team that is really good on the other side of the net and not knowing how to overcome that," Peterson said of the Monroe match. "Right now it is disappointing the way we played today. If you talk to me tomorrow or next week, it may be different. I just felt like we missed an opportunity and people didn't get to see us at our best."

Abear also knows that Saturday will be her last day wearing a Raider uniform and she will be ready.

"It is really starting to hit me now and it will be more so (Saturday). But I am really excited and hope to do really well," she said

Consolation semifinals

Northampton 23 19 23

Central Lakes 25 25 25

Central Lakes vs. Northampton

Jenny Skoog 9 kills, 3 ace serves, 15 digs, 1 block

Alex Lucken 1 dig

Ashley Abear 1 set assist, 1 ace serve, 22 digs

Kaitlynn Christen 9 kills, 1 set assist, 6 digs, 2 blocks

Ashton Kapphahn 3 kills, 34 set assists, 1 ace serve, 8 digs, 3 blocks

Ellen Stromgren 2 kills, 1 set assist, 1 block