Lisle, Ill. – With the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference playoffs just around the corner, the Concordia University Chicago volleyball team took to the floor twice today at the Benedictine Invitational to close out the regular season. The Cougars went 1-1 on the day, dropping the opening match in four sets to Wheaton before rebounding by taking down Lincoln College in straight sets. The big news of the day though was that senior Nicoletta Crowley picked up assist 3000 in her career against Wheaton. Crowley is just the second in program history to reach that mark.
 
In match one, CUC came out ready to roll in set one. CUC trailed early in set one, but two kills by Julia Spitelli helped to pull the Cougars back in front. The teams played even at 9-9 when the Cougars ripped of a 7-0 run. With Elise Sombke serving, the Cougars got kills by Jennifer Livesay, Shannon Stamp, and Jaylynn Johnson along with two aces by Sombke to pull ahead. CUC continued to lead throughout the set, using a block by Caroline Gibbons and Livesay to close out the set 25-16.
 
Unfortunately for CUC, Wheaton responded by playing strong the next three sets. The Thunder used a pair of 6-0 run runs to take set two 25-12. Wheaton then used an 8-1 run to open set three to cruise to a 25-17 set three win. It was much of the same in set four, as the Thunder roared to take set four 25-16 and the match 3-1.
 
Spitelli led the Cougars with 13 kills in the match. Crowley led the team with 23 assists while Sombke finished with nine digs.
 
CUC recovered nicely in match two. The Cougars opened the match on 4-0 run with strong serving by Courtney Luciano. Lincoln rebounded to pull even with CUC, but the Cougars used another 4-0 run which was powered by three Spitelli kills to take a 12-8 lead which forced a Lincoln timeout. The Cougars continued to build on the lead with more strong serving, this time from Alexis Hill. CUC closed the set on an 8-0 run with Livesay serving. Jaylynn Johnson powered the run with four kills to close the set 25-13.
 
CUC continued to build on the momentum in set two. The two teams battled even through the middle points to a 14-14 tie. CUC grabbed a small advantage with a Stamp block and kill. Lincoln then took the lead back at 21-19, but the Cougars responded. CUC used a 6-2 run to come back and take the set  25-23, using a Johnson kill to take the two set lead.
 
Set three saw the intensity increase. The two teams continued to exchange blows and played tight deep into set three. CUC found themselves trailing 23-21 late in the set, but was able to use a 5-1 run to pull off the comeback once again. Stamp had two kills in the run, and a block by Crowley put the final touch on the three set win.
 
Johnson led the team with 14 kills followed by Spitelli with 13. CUC hit .237 as a team for the match. Crowley finished with 37 assists in the match, while three different Cougars finished with double digit digs.
 
The Cougars will now ready for their first postseason appearance since 2011. They will travel up the Lake Michigan shoreline to Plymouth, Wisconsin to take on Lakeland University in a quarterfinal matchup Tuesday night at 7:00pm.