Central Mountain Sweeps Hughesville on Emotional Senior Night
MILL HALL — Celebration and dominance were the themes of the evening at Central Mountain as the Wildcats swept Hughesville in three sets (25-8, 25-13, 25-22) on Senior Night, pushing their season record to an impressive 10-3.
Before the opening serve of the varsity match, the spotlight belonged to Central Mountain’s five graduating seniors: Chloe Confer, Ella Batterson, Katelyn Walker, Allison Koch, and Charlee Toner. Recognized for their years of dedication to the program, each player was called onto the court and escorted by their parents and siblings. Amid warm applause from the home crowd, the seniors were presented with flowers and commemorative gifts to mark their senior milestone.
Once play began, the Wildcats kept the momentum rolling. Central Mountain came out firing in the opening set, overpowering the Spartans 25-8. The Wildcats maintained total control in the second frame, securing a 25-13 victory, before fending off a late push by Hughesville in a competitive third set to seal the 25-22 match-winner.
The loss drops Hughesville to 6-3 on the year.
Head coach Erin Winslow shuffled the lineup to highlight her senior class throughout the match, and the veteran group delivered seamless execution across all three sets.
“They did a fantastic job,” Coach Winslow said following the sweep. “It was nice to see them be able to work with others that they don’t normally start with, and they did an excellent job communicating and just playing with one another on the court.”
The victory highlights a strong midseason run for Central Mountain, a stretch Winslow attributes to continuous growth and leadership from her veteran core during a transition period for the program.
“We’ve really been making a lot of improvements throughout the season and just getting together, just gelling together as a team and making those adjustments where we need to,” Winslow noted. “Just congratulations to all our seniors and all their hard work and their dedication, especially moving us forward with new coaching. They’ve done an excellent job stepping up and helping out the team.”
The Wildcats won’t have long to celebrate their tenth win of the season. Central Mountain hits the road on Wednesday for a conference matchup against Danville (5-5).
