Cardinals corral third straight CLC crown

• Teya Burgau

Senior Teya Burgau (8) is a defensive specialist

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The Cardinal volleyball team’s run of dominance in the Central Lakes Conference continued on Tuesday night as Alexandria clinched the outright CLC title with a three-game sweep over Sauk Rapids-Rice.

It is the third straight season that the Cardinals have finished with at least a share of the league title. They finished tied with Rocori at 11-1 in 2007 and won it outright with a 12-0 record last season.

The winning streak in CLC play has now reached 31 matches for Alexandria, with wins over Sartell-St. Stephen and St. Cloud Tech in tournament play in the last two years included.

The Cardinals controlled things from the get-go against the Storm. They came out with a 25-18 win in the first. The second game saw much of the same as Alexandria won 25-17 before pulling out a close game three, 25-23.

The Cardinals have a deep lineup that has continued to cause teams fits in the last few years. Angela Christianson led an aggressive charge at the net with 10 kills and two blocks. Sam Trumm added nine kills and five blocks, while Jacque Brown and Nicole Swedberg both added seven kills. Katie Brown helped out on most of those with 20 assists. Keely Gross added 10 assists, while Chelsea Schroeder led the defense with 15 digs.

The Cardinals moved to 11-0 in conference play with the win. They wrap up the regular season with senior night tonight, Friday, against Brainerd.

MATCH STATISTICS

Alexandria 3, Sauk Rapids-Rice 0

ALEXANDRIA LEADERS – Jacque Brown – 7 kills, 1 block, 3 aces; Angela Christianson – 10 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace; Keely Gross – 10 assists; Katie Brown – 1 kill, 1 ace, 20 assists; Sam Trumm – 9 kills, 5 blocks, 9 digs; Nicole Swedberg – 7 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace, 10 digs; Rachel Thompson – 2 kills, 1 block; Katilin Becker – 6 kills, 3 blocks; Chelsea Schroeder – 15 digs

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