River Forest, Ill.- Concordia-Chicago's volleyball program came into tonight's match against Milwaukee School of Engineering looking to creep up the standings in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference to help earn them a tournament bid. MSOE much improved from last year sitting at 10-13 overall and 2-4 in the NACC would not be an easy match for CUC. After a great first set from the Cougars, the Raiders took control winning the next three sets and taking the match 3-1 (17-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-21).
From the start of the first serve, the Cougars rolled to an easy 25-17 win. When the match was 9-7 in favor of Concordia-Chicago, the Cougars rattled off nine of the next eleven points. Jaylynn Johnson's five kills and Jennifer Livesay's three kills led CUC to the set win and to carry the momentum into set two.
The beginning of set two was much like set one for the Cougars jumping out to a sizable lead over the Raiders. CUC distributed the ball around the floor for their 12-6 lead with kills from Johnson, Livesay, Shannon Stamp and Shelby Spitz. The Cougars had a 15-10 lead and looked to cruise to another set victory until MSOE quickly erased the lead. The Raiders rallied for ten straight points including three straight service aces by MSOE's Abby Born. The Cougars passing was something left to be desired as the Raiders continued to capitalize on their mistakes to take set two 25-19.
The ten point rally midway through set two was the clear shift in the match as it looked to take the wind out of the Cougars sails in sets three and four. MSOE got out to an 11-3 lead and didn't look back from there. CUC cut the lead to as little as five late in the set, but the Raiders held on for a 25-19 win. The fourth set was back and forth much of the way when it was tied at 16-16. However, MSOE again went on a run of five straight points to diminish any thought of a Cougar comeback. The Raiders took set three 25-21 and the match 3-1.
The Cougars (16-9, 3-4 NACC) return to action tomorrow when they host rival Concordia-Wisconsin in another big match that can have conference tournament implications down the road. First serve is set to begin at 12:00pm.
