The Briar Cliff volleyball team grinded out a 3-2 win over Mount Marty Saturday on Senior Day. The Charger block was a force at the net, totaling 15 blocks in the Newman Flanagan Center.
 
Chloe Johnson led the Cliff with 21 kills, three blocks and 16 digs in the contest, while Sami Wasmund notched eight blocks and 11 kills.  

"Sami has been a consistent threat at the net and tonight she came up with big blocks when we needed them the most," said head coach Lindsey Weatherford. "Chloe has found her rhythm again, which has made scoring easier for her and harder for our opponents to defend."
 
The Chargers bolted out of the gates, taking set one 25-16 behind a .306 hitting percentage. Chloe Johnson led the way with six kills in the opening set, on a red-hot .455 hitting percentage.
 
Briar Cliff held the lead throughout set one and built there advantage up to nine points after a kill by Toria Andre. Back-to-back kills from Chloe Johnson and Sami Wasmund closed out the win 25-16.
 
The Chargers fell behind 1-4 early in set three but grabbed the lead behind a 6-1 run. Trailing by one late in the set, the Chargers rattled off a 9-1 run to take a 24-17 lead and eventually won the set 25-20.
 
The Lancers won set two (25-20) and set four (25-22) behind .135 and .227 hitting percentages, respectively.
 
Chloe Johnson and Wasmund kicked off the final set with a block to give the Chargers the first point. The Cliff took a 10-5 advantage with four of the points coming from the duo. Facing match point, Mount Marty scored three straight to even it up at 14-14, however an Alexis Johnson kill followed by a Tannah Heath and Toria Andre ended the match 16-14.
 
"Tannah put the hitters in a good position to score tonight, but she is also a threat on the offensive and defensive side of the ball," said Weatherford. "She made several defensive plays tonight that kept the momentum on our side of the net."

Heath dished out a game high 49 assists and totaled 19 digs. Abbey Jones had 18 digs and one ace, while Jaice Johnsen and Taryn Nothem had 15 and 11 digs, respectively.

"Alexis came up big for us again tonight, as a freshman it can be hard in the GPAC, but she has really continued working to put herself in a position to terminate the ball when needed," noted Weatherford. "On Senior Day Olivia came up big for our squad on both sides of the ball and was reliable when we needed someone to score."
 
The Blue and Gold totaled 97 digs, four aces and 15 blocks in the match.
 
Briar Cliff heads to Sioux Center, Iowa Wednesday for a meeting with Dordt at 7:30 p.m.