A marathon third set put the exclamation point on the Central College volleyball team’s 25-21, 25-14, 31-29 victory over Buena Vista University Wednesday night.

The win moves Central to 21-8 overall and 4-4 in American Rivers Conference matches. The Dutch are headed back to the league tournament as the No. 5 seed with a trip to No. 4 Simpson College Tuesday at 7 p.m. Central is back in the tournament field after missing it in 2022. Central swept the first two sets with the lead only changing hands once in each set. The two squads were tied 13 times and exchanged the lead six times in the final set. Tied at 24-24, Leslie Snow and Gracie Daniels each nailed down three kills before Gracie Pierson finished the Beavers off with a kill. Snow had 13 on the night while Pierson had 12 and Daniels had nine. Setter Avery Rexroat paced the team with 44 assists and added 14 digs for a double-double. Snow also had a double-double with 14 digs to go with her 13 kills. Libero Colleen Kenney and defensive specialist Ashli Harn each reached double digit totals on digs with 20 and 11, respectively.  Middle hitter Elyse Johnson had two of Central’s four service aces.

The Dutch will close out the regular season Friday with a pair of matches in Rock Island, Illinois. Central plays Marian University (Wis.) at 4 p.m. and Augustana College (Ill.) at 8 p.m.