Sept. 2, 2017 - Concordia-Chicago returned to action this afternoon as they concluded the Concordia Invitational Volleyball Tournament against Concordia Ann Arbor and host Concordia Wisconsin. Coming off a very impressive comeback win yesterday evening against Concordia Texas, the Cougars looked to build off that in these matches. In match one, CUC really controlled sets one and three before coming back in set four to win the match 3-1 (25-19, 19-25, 25-15, 25-23) over Concordia Ann Arbor. In match two against Concordia Wisconsin, the Cougars didn't match the energy of the earlier contest, and the Falcons used that to their advantage to take the match 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-14).   

Set one started well for the Cougars as Austin Thompson had three straight kills mixed in with a Julia Spitelli kill to give CUC an early 6-4 lead.  Minutes later, Jaylynn Johnson built her confidence early after a monster smash that had people in the stands in awe. Thompson continued to stay strong in the first set with five early kills that gave the Cougars their largest lead of the match at 17-10 to force a Cardinals timeout. Concordia-Chicago held off a late rally from the Cardinals, but the Cougars closed out set one by winning 25-19.

The Cardinals jumped to a quick 4-2 lead early in set two. However, the Cougars got back to what they wanted to do, led by a great save by Elise Sombke running near the stands to save the point and CUC capitalizing on a CUAA error. After much back and forth, the Cardinals took advantage of multiple Cougar errors to give them a 14-11 lead midway through the second set. After a Concordia-Chicago timeout, the Cardinals rattled off six straight points to take a 20-11 lead late. CUC quickly cut the lead to four, but Ann Arbor went on to win set two 25-19.

There was not much leeway between the two teams in set three with the largest lead being three when Thompson blocked a kill and Alexa Lomantini had back to back aces to give the Cougars an 11-8 lead. After a Concordia Ann Arbor timeout, The Cougars continued to play well, specifically Johnson where she came up with a huge block and two kills to give CUC a 19-11 lead late in set three. Concordia-Chicago showed their dominance in set three winning 25-15 to give them a 2-1 match lead.

Early in set four, the Cardinals capitalized on CUC hitting errors that forced a Cougars timeout trailing 9-5. The set had a string of rallies for both teams, but CUAA started to pull away at 20-15 to force a Cougars timeout. Concordia-Chicago flipped a switch after the timeout, coming out with better energy and more confidence. Johnson began the rally with a kill, on top of Cardinals errors, the Cougars took a late lead at 22-21. The Cougars closed out the match on another CUAA hitting error to win set four 25-23 and the match 3-1.  

In game two against Concordia Wisconsin, the first set the Cougars set the pace with three quick points including an ace by Spitelli. The Falcons quickly responded to take a three point lead of their own at 11-8. Concordia-Chicago rallied to tie the game at 16 with kill by Shelby Spitz and Thompson. CUW regained the momentum scoring nine of the next 12 points to win the first set 25-19.  

In set two, both teams traded points before Concordia-Wisconsin went on a run of scoring seven straight points to put them on top in set two at 16-9. After a Cougars timeout, they scored five straight points to cut the lead to as little as two behind some great serving from Lomantini that wouldn't allow CUW to get into their offense. The Falcons quickly erased any momentum the Cougars thought they had by continuing to find holes in the CUC defense to go on to win set two 25-19.

In set three, the Cougars jumped out to an early 4-2 lead highlighted by a kill by Spitelli. After that, Concordia-Wisconsin continued to play excellent volleyball rallying off eleven of the next twelve points to give them a 13-5 lead and force a CUC timeout.  The timeout didn't stop the Falcons as they outplayed the Cougars the rest of the set to win 25-14 and win the match 3-0.

CUC head coach Troy Campbell had this to say on his teams effort this weekend, "We came through with really great energy and focus in the first match against Ann Arbor. In the second match we just didn't give the emotional energy that we're capable of giving after such an emotional first match. It was great to play in a championship game for CIT, we aren't satisfied with the loss, but we are certainly happy with the overall effort this weekend."

The Cougars (2-1) return to action September 5th, when they host North Park University at 5 p.m. and North Central College at 7 p.m. in the Concordia-Chicago Quad from Geiseman Gymnasium.