No. 7 Stormin’ Pointers roll past Vikettes into Regional semis
By Jeff Holmes
CENTER POINT — It wasn’t the prettiest performance through the first two sets, but it was enough.
Seventh-rated Center Point-Urbana rolled to a 25-14, 25-15, 25-11 over Vinton-Shellsburg Tuesday night at the Dog Pound. The Stormin’ Pointers (23-11) now advance to Thursday’s Regional semifinal, hosting the team that eliminated them in last year’s Regional final, Mid-Prairie.
The first set was a back-and-forth battle, as the Vikettes (who finished 3-32 for year) had things tied at 7-7 in the early going, before CPU went on a 18-7 finish to take the first set.
It was similar in the second set, but again the Pointers pulled away late for the 10-point win.
In the final set, CPU dominated and other than giving up some late points, they rolled to a 25-11 final set win.
“Three solid sets,” said CPU head coach Michelle Halac. “We had our ups and downs, but Vinton came to play and gave us their best, so kudos to them for the way they came out to fight.
“There are lot of great things we did tonight and a lot of things we’re going to go talk about and work on tomorrow,” she added. “But continuing to build and be better throughout the season is the goal, just like any night. And so, by the third set, I thought we played some of our best volleyball. So that’s what we want to see.”
Next up are the Golden Hawks (20-14) who eliminated Fairfield 3-0 in their first-round match. It was Mid-Prairie who defeated CPU in an epic five set marathon last season in Wellman. In 2024, the Stormin’ Pointers defeated Mid-Prairie in the Regional final.
“This will be the third time in four years we’ve played each other,” said Halac. “We beat them here and they beat us at their place; hopefully we keep that going.”
Adelyn Stein dished out 28 assists, and her offense spread them around. Brynley Havel had eight kills, Kyra White and Brielle Trout seven each and Addy Halac five.
