River Forest, Ill.- Concordia-University Chicago (5-9; 0-2 NACC) hosted Alverno College (5-9; 0-2 NACC) in the first of a two-game doubleheader on the day. CUC bolted out to a quick two set lead after 25-17, and 25-18 wins. They would end the match with a closer score of 25-21 and take their first conference win of the season.
 
Early miscues for both teams kept the score tight. When CUC fixed the little issues, they started connecting on all cylinders. Soon, a kill by Jennifer Livesay gave the Cougars a little breathing room at 9-5. Concordia-Chicago capitalized on all sorts of Alverno mistakes and shortly found themselves up 18-10.  Julia Spitelli would extend the lead to 20-11 on a kill that forced the Inferno to take their first timeout of set one. After the timeout Alverno found some life and shrunk the Cougar lead to 20-15. Spitelli, adding another kill, ended the rally and brought the momentum right back to the good side. Concordia-Chicago would cruise to a 25-17 set one win to open the day.

VB: Cougars take set one 25-17!!! pic.twitter.com/JEgewpKJ5b

— CUC Athletics (@CUChicagoSports) September 22, 2018

 
Set two opened up with an acrobatic Jaylynn Johnson kill. The kill sprung the Cougar attack to produce an 8-2 lead. Livesay took her turn in forcing an Alverno timeout. After her kill CUC was sitting pretty at 13-5. More of the same for the Concordia-Chicago attack as the set moved forward. Tough defense, and powerful spikes led them to a 21-14 lead and forced the Inferno to use timeout number two. Shannon Stamp tricked the whole defense and placed the ball perfectly to make the Cougars that much closer to a set two win. It would only take two more serves, and Concordia-Chicago would end the game 25-18, placing them in control of the match.
 
After winning the first two sets of the match, the Cougars wanted to end Alverno as swiftly as possible. Moving out to an 8-5 lead gave CUC a chance to do just that. Although Concordia-Chicago was up, the Inferno seemed to be sticking around and were improving their offensive attack. CUC started distancing themselves with a four-point lead after Nicoletta Crowley assisted another Spitelli kill making the score 16-12. Alverno found a new strategy in dinks and dunks close to the net but Johnson showed them the CUC way and overpowered them with a strong spike to give the Cougars a 20-17 lead. CUC would wrap up a three game sweep of Alverno with a 25-21 set three win.

VB: That's a Cougar WINNER!!! CUC takes it in straight sets over Alverno! pic.twitter.com/SzvQJwVXLn

— CUC Athletics (@CUChicagoSports) September 22, 2018

 
The Cougars were paced by Spitelli (11 kills) and Crowley (29 assists).