RIVER FOREST, ILL. — Four players for Concordia University Chicago's women's volleyball team (10-13, 5-6) were honored Friday as part of Senior Night 2022. Celebrations were had aplenty, as CUC swept the Alverno College Inferno (5-18, 0-11) for their third win in the past four matches.
Inside the Box Score
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Katie Stonich (Sadieville, Ky.) led both squads in kills with 10. The junior has now notched double-digit kills in eight games this season.
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Jaida Carr (Livermore, Calif.) and Lili Hunt (Greenfield, Ind.) played stellar frontline defense all match, both putting up five total blocks. Hunt tied a career high with her five.
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Three Cougars put up 10+ digs; Julia Beers (Mishawaka, Ind.) with 11, Stonich with 17, and Grace Heywood (Northbrook, Ill.) with 13.
The night began with Concordia's four graduating players receiving their spotlight. Carr, Stonich, Heywood, and Katie Schrems (South Bend, Ind.) were escorted to the court by their families and teammates, received special messages from head coach of the Cougars, Troy Campbell, and took photos before preparing to take on the Inferno.
CUC followed the festivities by pouncing on Alverno to kick off set one. The Cougars jumped out to a speedy 6-0 lead, capped off by an emphatic Carr and Hunt block, before the Inferno could muster up a point.
Alverno struggled to generate consistent offense against a stingy Concordia defense. Throughout set one, the Inferno would score consecutive points on just two occasions. Meanwhile, CUC's offense had little trouble settling into a groove, scoring three or more points in a row on three occasions.
By the time Alverno got to point 10, the Cougars were already at the 23 point mark. Back-to-back errors from the Inferno, with a Heywood and McKayla LeVoy (Kankakee, Ill.) block thrown in as well, sealed set one for Concordia, 25-10.
Set two looked at first to be a repeat of set one, as CUC nabbed the first two points of the match. Alverno did not back down though, and managed to tie things up, 2-2. The NACC rivals commenced trading blows, with the Cougars leading most of early set two by just one or two points.
A 3-0 run looked to have given Concordia some breathing room, 12-8, but the Inferno rattled off four straight points to once again knot the game up at 12 points a piece.
Carr would quickly give CUC the lead back with a strong strike, but it would not be until a few volleys later, helped out by an 8-1 run, that the Cougars started to pull away, now up 23-15.
Alverno would take back two points, but an exhausting rally, ended by a costly attack error from Rolin West, set Concordia at match-point. Another attack error from the Inferno wrapped up set two, with CUC coming out victorious, 25-17.
Looking to end senior night with a win, the Cougars claimed six of the first seven points in set three, highlighted by a Stonich service ace.
Five of the next seven points also went the way of Concordia, with Alverno now trailing 11-3. In desperation mode, the Inferno took the next four points to pull within four, 11-7. A 3-0 CUC run quickly put the lead to seven, but then consistent offense became hard to find as neither team scored more than two points in a row for most of the set.
Alverno was able to cut the deficit down to only one, 22-21. But, the Cougars scored three of the final five points, with a Heywood kill finishing off the Inferno in set three, 25-23, and clinching the match win for Concordia, 3-0.
CUC will be right back at it tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 22, as they host Edgewood College in the final home game of the season for the Cougars. First serve is set for 12 p.m. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com, with the live stream available on the CUC Sports Youtube page.
