Early surge sends No. 2 Mount Vernon volleyball to its 11th consecutive victory

CENTER POINT — Chloe Meester spent the majority of the first set stuck in the back row.

In this case, that was a very good thing.

With Meester at the service line, players like Brooke Ellyson got their swings in an early Mount Vernon surge, and the Class 3A second-ranked Mustangs swept No. 9 Center Point-Urbana, 25-11, 25-23, 25-19, in a Wamac Conference East Division volleyball match Tuesday night at Center Point-Urbana High School.

“Chloe is so awesome; her service pressure helps us out a lot,” said Ellyson, who posted six of her 10 kills in the opening set.

The Mustangs (15-1 overall, 3-0 Wamac East won their 11th consecutive match; their only setback was against Dike-New Hartford.

“We have so much energy, so much love going on,” Ellyson said.

A junior and a commit of NCAA power Louisville, Meester finished with a match-high 16 kills, but only one in the Mustangs’ first-set blitz. That’s because she spent a 10-point run serving while Ellyson and Caliana Whitaker took center stage at the net, turning a 4-3 deficit into a 13-4 advantage.

“Obviously, Chloe can get kills, but so can everybody else,” junior setter Sydney Huber said.

Huber spent her first two seasons at Cedar Rapids Xavier before moving east. She is third in the state in assists per set (10.4), and counted 35 of them Tuesday.

“She’s such a positive teammate,” Ellyson said. “She’s very adjustable.”

Mount Vernon Coach Maggie Willems said, “Sydney is incredibly coachable. She gets better every day.”

CPU (12-8, 1-2) held a 14-10 lead in the second set and was even at 16-all in the third. Both times, the Mustangs got the job done late behind a strong transition game.

“We focus on every single point,” Ellyson said. “We got good serving when we needed it.”

The Mustangs served eight aces, four from Eryn Jackson and three from Meester.

Sydney Maue, a junior and an Arkansas commit, led CPU with nine kills. Maya Burkhart added eight.

Mount Vernon 3, Center Point-Urbana 0

(25-11, 25-23, 25-19)

At Center Point

Serving: Mount Vernon 67-72 (.931), CPU 47-55 (.854)

Aces: Mount Vernon 8 (Eryn Jackson 4), CPU 2 (Logan Keller, Paige Foltz)

Kills: Mount Vernon 39 (Chloe Meester 16), CPU 33 (Sydney Maue 9)

Assists: Mount Vernon 37 (Sydney Huber 35), CPU 31 (Keller 18)

Blocks: Mount Vernon 4 (Paige Schurbon 2), CPU 5 (Foltz 4)

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com