In the regular season finale Thursday night, the Central College volleyball team overcame a slow start for a 17-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-17 victory at Buena Vista University.
The Dutch (20-8, 5-3 ARC) finished in a three-way tie for third place in the American Rivers Conference standings and earned the fourth seed in the league tournament, where they will host their quarterfinals match against Wartburg College on Tuesday.
After recording a negative hitting percentage in the opening set, Central’s offense came to life in the next three sets. Freshman right-side hitter Kaitlyn Koel had a team-high 11 kills, while junior outside hitter Leslie Snow added 10 kills. Setter Makayla Ribble had another double-double with 23 assists and 17 digs, and also had six service aces on 26 attempts. Making her first start at libero this season, senior Gwen Kahlke posted 35 digs.
Central will host a conference tournament game for the first time since 2014 on Tuesday.