Abbey Weideman’s vertical has Center Point-Urbana climbing upward

MARION — It's not Abbey Weideman's size. It's her springs.

'The last time we checked, her vertical (jump) was 32 or 33 inches,' Center Point-Urbana volleyball coach Cathy Husmann said. 'That's the first thing she wanted to improve on when practice started.

'She's 5-foot-8, but she plays like she's 6 feet tall.'

And partly because of that, it's now likely that the Stormin' Pointers will tower over the Wamac Conference West Division.

Weideman registered 18 kills, seven in the final set, as Class 4A seventh-ranked Center Point-Urbana tipped No. 11 Marion in four sets (25-19, 25-15, 24-26, 26-24) in a divisional match Tuesday night at Marion High School.

'We got a little timid there for a while,' said Weideman, a University of South Dakota recruit. 'Near the end of the (fourth set), we realized we had two sets and wanted to get it over with.'

CPU (16-5 overall, 3-0 Wamac West) took sole possession of the divisional lead and already has wins over its chief rivals, Independence and now Marion. If the Stormin' Pointers take care of business the rest of the way, they will earn their first outright Wamac divisional title.

'It doesn't mean we can let up,' Husmann said. 'We've got to get after it against everybody in our conference.'

CPU rolled through the first two sets and led 15-10 in the third before the Indians (7-5, 2-1) rallied. A four-point run put Marion in front, 20-19, then the set was tied four times before the Indians scored the last two points, on a kill by Andrea Landuyt and an attack error by CPU.

'We weren't totally prepared the first two sets,' Marion Coach Roxanne Paulsen said. 'Then we settled in a lot.'

Marion had a 22-20 lead in Game 4 before a pivotal moment, an attack by Landuyt was called just long.

That ignited a three-point run that put CPU up, 23-22. At 24-24, Morgan Husmann's kill got the Stormin' Pointers to match point, and CPU converted on a Marion attack miscue.

Landuyt's 19 kills led all hitters, and Drake recruit Caitlyn Smith notched 46 assists for the Indians. Delaney Rice recorded seven blocks.

Emily Kono added 13 kills for CPU, with Morgan Husmann collecting 38 assists.

CENTER POINT-URBANA 3, MARION 1 (25-19, 25-15, 24-26, 26-24)

At Marion

Serving — CPU 90-97 (.928), Marion 83-86 (.965)

Aces — CPU 8 (Morgan Husmann, Rylee Clark, Callie Neighbor 2), Marion 4 (Michaela Oberbroeckling 2)

Kills — CPU 49 (Abbey Wiedeman 18), Marion 51 (Andrea Landuyt 19)

Assists — CPU 45 (Husmann 38), Marion 49 (Caitlyn Smith 46)

Blocks — CPU 8 (Callyn Fox 4), Marion 9 (Delaney Rice 7)

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com