MITCHELL – Aberdeen Central weathered the storm on the bookends and found its stride in the middle en route to a straight sets sweep of Mitchell Tuesday evening on the road. The Golden Eagles won the Eastern South Dakota Conference volleyball match 25-23, 25-11 and 25-23.

Central relied on a strong service game to stay in control of the match, particularly in the early going when the host squad was controlling things at the net.

“We served well and were able to keep them out of system a lot,” said Central coach Jackie Bindenagel. “They frustrated us a bit with their block to start the match, but once we got our offense rolling, that opened up a few things at the net.”

Central’s Lauryn Burckhard led the Golden Eagle efforts in both categories, finishing with four of the team’s six aces, while contributing 11 kills to the cause, as well. Kamdyn Borge and Kenadi Withers each had five kills, while Withers patrolled the back line with 17 digs.

“I thought our kids defended well tonight” Bindenagel said.

Winners of four of its last five, Central is slated to host Pierre Saturday afternoon at Golden Eagles Arena. Match time is set for 3 p.m.

Serving: Aberdeen Central 67-72 6 aces (Lauryn Burckhard 20-21 4 aces).

Hitting: Aberdeen Central 88-193 29 kills (Burckhard 37-44 11 kills, Kamdyn Borge 13-13 5 kills, Kenadi Withers 17-21 5 kills).

Setting: Aberdeen Central 110-110 29 assists (Alivia Miller 99-99 27 assists).

Digs: Aberdeen Central 73 (Withers 17, Kennedy Osborne 14, Taylin Kleffman 15).

Blocks: Aberdeen Central 2 (Borge, Amelia Rife).

Records: Aberdeen Central 11-5; Mitchell 2-17.