River Forest, Ill. – With their first appearance in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament since 2011 just over 24 hours away, the Concordia University Chicago Cougars wait for their opportunity to hit the floor once again. Before the action begins, here is everything you need to know about the matchup.
 
Recent History: The Cougars matched up with Lakeland on October 20 to close out the regular season conference schedule. Lakeland defeated CUC by a final of 3-1. Julia Spitelli led the Cougars with 14 kills on the day followed by Jaylynn Johnson with 12. Abby Baumgartner, Shelby Welsh and Shannon Bishop all finished with double digit kills for the Muskies.
 
About the Cougars: The Concordia University Chicago Cougars come into the NACC Tournament looking to make some noise in their first appearance since 2011. CUC is 2-5 all-time in NACC Tournament play in five appearances. Senior Nicoletta Crowley has been one of the key players for CUC this season. Crowley picked up her 3000^th career assist over the weekend against Wheaton. She is just the second in school history to reach that mark. Johnson has been the top outside attacker for the Cougars, ranking fourth in the NACC with 3.05 kills per set. Shannon Stamp has also been a key contributor this year, hitting .267 on the season. She also averages just under a block per set which ranks her fourth in the conference. A big part of the CUC success this season is their serving. They are the top team in the conference, averaging 2.09 aces per set.


About the Muskies: The Lakeland University Muskies come into the NACC Tournament looking to make some noise after getting eliminated in the opening round of the 2017 NACC Tournament by Dominican. Lakeland is 11-8 all-time in NACC Tournament play in 11 appearances. Shannon Bishop is the top attacker for the Muskies, ranking fifth just behind CUC's Johnson in kills per set with 2.97. Emma Bruder has been a key piece as well, ranking third in the conference in digs with 467. The other important piece for the Muskies is their setter Neenah Primas. Primas heads into tomorrow nights' action ranking third in the conference in assists per set with 8.95.
 
Up Next: The winner of the match tomorrow night will earn themselves a semifinal matchup with the NACC regular season champion Aurora Spartans. Aurora is currently receiving votes in the AVCA top 25 poll.