Sept. 27, 2014 - To say that the Concordia-Chicago volleyball team faced a formidable field of foes at this weekend's Gargoyle Classic would be quite the understatement. The Cougars' four opponents at the tournament hosted by the University of Chicago finished the weekend with a collective record of 59-14. CUC went 0-4 for the weekend with losses to Augustana College and Millikin University on Friday, and the University of Chicago and Carthage College on Saturday.
Set one of the Augustana Match provided the best volleyball action of the two days with the two teams battling back and forth. The Cougars received three kills each from
Kaylyn Anderson (East Chicago, IN/Whiting) and
Austin Thompson (Morris, IL/Morris Community). But the Vikings had an answer in Emily Leazer who pounded out seven kills in the opening set and nine for the match. While Concordia hit a solid .312 in set one, Augustana hit .410 in set one, .364 in set two and a whopping .611 in the final set.
Anderson and
Mary Arredia (Franklin Park, IL/West Leyden) recorded seven kills each for the Cougars while Thompson added six.
Jackie Bartnicki (Chicago, IL/Guerin Prep) chipped in with 17 assists and six digs.
Matters did not get any easier when the Cougars faced Millikin University in the evening match. The Big Blue hit .471 and .556 in the first two sets and won them by 25-13 and 25-11 scores. Concordia-Chicago slowed down Millikin's attack in set three but were unable to mount a powerful enough counter, and the Big Blue wrapped up the sweep with a 25-18 win.
Anderson's seven kills led CUC while Audrey Krajec led Millikin with 13 kills and a .571 attack.
There was no respite from the opponents' powerful hitting when the Cougars took the floor Saturday morning against the host school. The University of Chicago hit over .500 in sets two and three and rolled to a 25-15, 25-10, 25-12 win. Anderson provided most of the Cougars' offense with a 10-kill effort.
Tournament action concluded for the Cougars with a match against Carthage College. Ranked 27th in the nation, the Lady Reds won their 12th straight match, beating the Cougars by scores of 25-11, 25-16, 25-13. CUC's passing game struggled against Carthage's serving as the Cougars simply were unable to mount any kind of a sustained offensive rhythm. Anderson finished with nine kills while Thompson added six.
Concordia-Chicago (3-14) returns to Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play on Tuesday when they play at Rockford University.
