Falcons, Injury Spoil Cougar Volleyball's Senior Night
Oct. 21, 2011 - What started out as a night of celebration for the Cougar volleyball seniors and a potential big victory for the team was derailed along the way by the Concordia Wisconsin Falcons. The visitors came back from losing the opening set 25-17 to take the next three sets by scores of 25-21, 26-24 and 25-23.
The Cougars came out roaring in set one following the ceremonies for Rachel Cooper (Roscoe, IL/Hononegah), Sarah Potter (New Haven, IN/Woodlan) and Briana Steffenhagen (Chicago, IL/DeLaSalle). Potter, Cooper, Claire Mackey (Shelton, NE/Heartland Lutheran) and Allison Sapiro (Milwaukee, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran) all contributed hard-hit kills in the opening set as the home team rode the momentum to a convincing set win.
The Falcons raised their level of play in set two, and the two rivals settled into a back-and-forth battle. However, late in the set with the Cougars holding a slight lead, Potter landed awkwardly after a kill attempt. After being tended to by the trainers, Potter was taken to the sidelines. The incident momentarily deflated the Cougars, and the Falcons took advantage to come back and take the second set.
Early in the third set, Potter returned to the match amidst a loud ovation from the crowd. However, she would go back to the sidelines after just a few minutes and would not return. Potter left the match with nine kills (.238), one ace and five digs.
Concordia-Chicago was still in position to control the match as they led 24-22 late in the set. However, a hitting error opened the door for the Falcons, and they served up the next three points to steal the third set and grab the momentum for themselves.
Mackey and Sapiro looked to rally the Cougars in set four. Bianca Gordon (Milwaukee, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran) also knocked down some big kills as the Cougars looked to force the second five-set match between the teams this season. However, the Falcons received some clutch hitting of their own from Brittany Deinlein (17 kills, .239) as the visitors were able to hold off the Cougars and take the match.
The Falcons' hitting was solid behind Deinlein and Hannah Griffiths (14 kills), but their blocking was a crucial factor in their success too. Amanda Wilke had six blocks to go with seven kills, and Amanda Stahmann recorded five blocks to go with nine kills.
Mackey led the Cougars with 13 kills and 12 digs. Gordon tallied 12 kills and five blocks (three solo), and Sapiro finished with 11 kills. Savanna Ashbaugh (Waverly, IL/H.S.) handed out a career-high 51 assists, and Maryl Pinotti (Evergreen Park, IL/H.S.) recorded 22 digs.
The Cougars (10-15, 5-6 NAC) will close out the conference portion of their schedule Wednesday night when they play at Alverno College in Milwaukee.
