Chargers close historic season with 5-set loss to Raiders at nationals

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A historic season for the Sandburg volleyball team ended in heartbreak Thursday as the Chargers saw Central (Neb.) rally to defeat them 17-25, 25-16, 16-25, 25-17, 15-9 in the third-place bracket of the NJCAA Division II Volleyball Championship at Alliant Energy PowerHouse.

The 19th-seeded Chargers close their season with a 36-12 record that saw them set the school record for wins (the previous record was 33 in 2019), claim the program's first victory at nationals and take home its fourth region championship since 2017.

Sandburg led 4-3 in the decisive fifth set after Grace Vyhnanek set up outside hitter Taylor Wagner for a kill, but 20th-seeded Central (21-16) took seven of the next eight points and never trailed again.

Kills from sophomores Ayla Cannon and Natalie Burden forced a Raiders timeout with Sandburg down 11-9 in the fifth, but Central won the final four points of the match.

Libero Madeline Mooney's ace on the match's opening serve helped Sandburg get out to an 8-2 lead, and the Chargers never trailed in the first set. Sandburg led 14-6 in the first, but the Raiders got back in it by winning eight of the next nine points.

The Chargers, though, won the next three points and six of the next seven to pull away. Cannon opened the stretch with a kill after a Central overpass, and Vyhnanek added an ace two points later.

The second set featured nine ties, with the last coming at 15-all before the Raiders strung together five straight points and 10 of the last 11 to even the match.

Three straight Cannon kills gave the Chargers a lasting lead in the third at 7-4. Olivia Falborg had a kill and two blocks as part of a 6-0 run that put Sandburg ahead 19-9 in the set.

The Chargers led 9-8 in the fourth after Wagner and Burden put down consecutive kills, but Central followed with a 6-0 run to go ahead as it forced a fifth set.

Wagner had 20 kills and 14 digs for the Chargers. Burden racked up 13 kills, and Cannon had a dozen kills in addition to five block assists.

Vyhnanek dished out 50 assists, her second most in a match this season. She also collected five block assists and tied Lauren Powell for the team lead with two aces.

Freshman Abigail Shaffer had a team-best 21 digs, with Mooney adding 13. Falborg had six blocks assists to lead the Chargers. 

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