Nov. 2, 2013 – The Concordia-Chicago volleyball team returned to Benedictine University today to compete in day two of the Benedictine Invitational. Following losses on Friday to Carthage College (22-25, 23-25, 12-25) and the University of Chicago (10-25, 15-25, 13-25), the Cougars were primed to take on Elmhurst College and North Central College for the final matches of the 2013 season.
In their first match of the day against Elmhurst College, the Cougars came up short against a regionally and nationally ranked Bluejays team by scores of 7-25, 13-25 and 19-25. After a quick first set, the Cougars started quickly in set two behind the serving of
Jenna Boggs (South Beloit, IL/Hononegah). Unfortunately, the 6-3 lead did not hold up, but the Cougars remained persistent. Improvement continued as CUC battled tough to make the third set the closest of the match. Boggs finished with 18 assists and three kills in the game while
Lisa Koller (Indianapolis, IN/Indianapolis Lutheran) and
Kristin Allen (Green Valley, IL/Illini Central) had seven and six kills respectively.
In their second match of the day and fourth of the weekend the Cougars played North Central College to three identical scores of 19-25. All three sets were hard fought matches where the Cougars showed their fighting spirit and were on the cusp of winning each one. CUC was led by 25 assists from Boggs. Allen led the team in kills with nine while
Bianca Gordon (Milwaukee, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran) added eight.
The matches were the final ones of the season for the Cougars who finished 4-22 (2-9 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference) and the final ones for the careers of seniors Boggs, Gordon and Koller.
"Concordia Volleyball has taught me who I am as an individual," said Boggs. "CUC has brought me happiness on and off the court as well. I am grateful for all aspects of my experience. Being our last season together, Bianca, Lisa, and I really took advantage of the talent we had and worked together to leave a legacy."
"Being part of the Concordia volleyball team has been part of my identification for the past four years," said Koller. "It has been a great experience filled with irreplaceable memories. This season has been tough, but we stuck together. I was tremendously blessed with the most amazing coaches and teammates. I will miss the game, but more importantly I will miss my teammates and the opportunity to represent CUC."
"Playing volleyball these past four years has been a great experience for me," said Gordon. "I've learned so much from every teammate. Coming into my last season, I felt that we were all up for the challenge being such a young team, and we were willing to work together. It's such a hard concept to grasp knowing that I am officially done with volleyball and won't be able to play with these girls anymore. I know that they will do great things in the future, and I can't wait to come back and see the improvement."
