The Concordia University Chicago women's volleyball team (4-5) was back in Geiseman Gymnasium today, April 3, as they hosted Dominican University (11-3) in the Division Street Rivalry. Although the Cougars put up a fight in all sets played, they couldn't come out with any match wins today, losing both to the Stars.
 
The first set of match No. 1 was a close battle between the two teams. It went into extra points, although the Stars finished with the 27-25 win. In the second, the Cougars started off with the lead, but were unable to keep it as the set went on, losing 25-22. Concordia's momentum vanished heading into the third and final set as the Stars grabbed the early lead. Due to this, the Cougars lost the last set 25-17.  
 
Leading the team on offense was freshman Katie Stonich (Sadieville, Ky.). The outside hitter finished the game with 10 kills to help the team's efforts. She also recorded a team-high two aces from the service line.
 
The defense stood out tremendously for the Cougars in this match. Freshman setter Isabelle Vernengo (Plainfield, Ind.) led the team in digs with 10 while also notching 17 assists. Senior Alexa Lomantini (St. Louis, Mo.) and junior Julia Beers (Mishawaka, Ind.) also registered nine digs each. The front row defense made their impact as well. Junior Mikala Perino (Depere, Wis.) earned five blocks while fellow junior Caroline Gibbons (Roselle, Ill.) added four. Three other Cougars also added three blocks of their own including Stonich, Vernengo and junior Lily Goldstein (Indianapolis, Ind.).
 
The second match of the day resulted in the same outcome as the first, but with a much different story. The Stars came out strong to take the first set 25-23, but the Cougars were not letting them get away with it. Concordia went on to win the second set 25-11. They continued with their dominating performance in the third as they squeezed out a 26-24 win. Although they had a commanding performance in the second and third sets, it wasn't enough to stop the Stars. Dominican came back in the final two sets to win the match with scores of 25-18 and 15-6.
 
Sophomore Alyssa Henline (Fort Wayne, Ind.) was the biggest contributor for the Cougars' offense. She finished the game with 18 kills while also notching two aces. Also registering double-digit kills was sophomore Jaida Carr (Livermore, Calif.). The lefty earned 11 kills in her first five-set match of the season.
 
Beers led the defensive efforts from the back row for the Cougars as she grabbed 16 digs. Lomantini was close behind her, recording 11 digs in her Senior Day game. Two other Cougars grabbed double-digit digs in this match, and those two were Vernengo and freshman Sophie Kovachevich (Huntley, Ill.) who each had 10. In the front row, Tori Steele (Elizabethtown, Ky.) had an impressive seven blocks in the match.
 
Today was the last day of regular season home games for the Cougars this season. They will be back in action next Sunday, April 11, as they travel to Rockford University. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.