River Forest, Ill. – Winners of three straight, the Concordia University Chicago Cougar Volleyball team begins a big week in NACC play tonight when they head to the south side of Chicago to take on Illinois Tech.
Recent History: The Cougars are 2-1 all-time against Illinois Tech. The two sides have played two matches at IIT and one at CUC during that span. CUC has won the last two matchups, including a four set match on the road last season.
Jaylynn Johnson led the Cougars with 16 kills in the match followed by
Shannon Stamp with 11. Concordia finished with nine team blocks on the night as well.
About the Cougars: CUC comes into tonight's matchup 10-12 overall and 5-4 in the NACC. They currently are tied with Edgewood College for the final playoff spot, but do hold the tiebreaker. The Cougars are in control of their own destiny when it comes to the playoffs and still have a chance to host a playoff game depending on results. CUC athlete of the week Johnson was nearly unstoppable against Wisconsin Lutheran on Saturday, hitting a season high .427 on the day with 17 kills. The Cougars continue to be the toughest serving team in the conference, averaging 2.13 aces per set. Stamp also continues to be among the national leaders in blocks and blocks per set.
About the Scarlet Hawks: Illinois Tech comes into tonight match 4-15 overall and 1-8 in NACC play. They are looking to get things going after losing six of their last seven matches. They did win their most recent match against Kalamazoo this past Saturday by a 3-1 score. Taylor Burton has been the top attacker for IIT this season, with 128 kills and a .231 hitting percentage. IIT does run a two setter system, as both Allison Wilkins and Courtney Darling both have over 200 assists on the year. Last year against CUC, Burton had nine kills on 20 attempts to go along with six total blocks.
Up Next: The Cougars ready for an overnight road trip to the land of cheese to close out NACC regular season play. They will first take on Marian University on Friday night before heading to Lakeland on Saturday. CUC will also play a single non-conference match against UW-Stout on Saturday afternoon as well.
