Greencastle, Ind. – Looking to rebound after a tough rivalry match on Wednesday night, the Concordia University Chicago Women's Volleyball team took to the floor at the DePauw Invitational tonight. CUC couldn't get anything going in the opening match against Rose-Hulman, falling in straight sets. The Cougars answered through in a big way, knocking off Earlham College three sets to one.
In match one, the Cougars struggled to get things going offensively. Rose-Hulman used an early 9-1 run to open a 9-2 lead to force a CUC timeout. The Cougars got themselves back in the set with a 7-0 run of their own to tie the set at 11.
Shannon Stamp helped fuel the run with strong serving. CUC got kills from
Julia Spitelli, and
Chloe Martin to help fuel the run as well. Unfortunately for CUC, the Engineers were able to build up their lead once again, closing out set one on a 7-0 run to take set one 25-17.
In sets two and three, Rose-Hulman was able to capitalize on Cougar errors. In both sets, the Engineers were able to build up early leads that CUC would be unable to overcome to take the match in straight sets.
Spitelli led the team with four kills in the match.
Nicoletta Crowley finished with 13 assists, while
Alexis Hill finished with seven digs.
In match two, the Cougars came out with renewed energy. CUC built up an 8-2 lead early in the first set with
Courtney Luciano dropping in two aces, with kills by Crowley and Stamp. The Cougars made it a 19-10 lead with Hill serving in an ace of her own. CUC closed out the set with another impressive 6-0 run with Luciano serving once again to take the set 25-13.
In the second set, CUC used a 6-1 run early in the set to build up a 10-6 advantage. Crowley was serving strong, and the Cougars got kills from Spitelli and
Kylee Niemantsverdriet. CUC opened up even more breathing room with an 8-1 run midway through the set. More stellar serving from Luciano and Hill, with kills by
Jaylynn Johnson, Spitelli and Stamp helped CUC to build the lead to 21-10. Johnson put the final touches on the set with a big swing from the outside to take set two 25-17.
In set three, CUC opened up an early 8-3 advantage with Stamp serving. The Quakers couldn't handle Stamp's serving, as Stamp poured in three aces. Earlham answered with a 5-0 run of their own to pull even midway through the set. The teams battled even through the middle points until CUC looked to take control with a 6-1 run that opened up an 18-13 advantage.
Alexa Lomantini and
Elise Sombke continued the strong serving trend for CUC during the run. Unfortunately for CUC, Earlham would not go away quietly, using a 5-0 run to build a late advantage to take set three 26-24.
Set four saw CUC continue the trend of building an early lead. Kills by Stamp and Johnson helped the Cougars to build a 10-5 advantage early on. That margin stayed the same until late in the set when CUC was able to close on a 7-1 run to take the match. With Crowley serving, CUC got kills from Spitelli and
Caroline Gibbons to seal the Cougars fifth win of the season.
As a team CUC hit .231 for the match, including incredibly high marks of .423 and .406 in the first two sets. Spitelli, Johnson and Stamp all finished with double-digit kills on the night. Crowley finished with a game high 40 assists, while Sombke finished with a season high 24 digs. The Cougars also got the front line going, which finished with six total blocks.
The Cougars conclude their long opening road trip tomorrow at the DePauw Invitational where they will take on Transylvania University at 10:00am (EDT) before taking on Millikin University at 2:00pm (EDT).
