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Concordia University Chicago Athletics

Home of the Concordia-Chicago Cougars

Grace Heywood
2
Marian (WI) Marian 5-17,2-4 NACC
3
Winner Concordia Chicago CUC 7-10,2-4 NACC
Marian (WI) Marian
5-17,2-4 NACC
2
Final
3
Concordia Chicago CUC
7-10,2-4 NACC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Marian (WI) Marian 25 28 25 22 10 (2)
Concordia Chicago CUC 18 30 21 25 15 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | Carter Gledhill, Athletic Communications Student Assistant

Heywood Ties School Record in Five-Set Thriller Over Sabres

RIVER FOREST, Ill. --- Pink covered the walls of Geiseman Gymnasium Friday night for Concordia University Chicago women's volleyball's Pink Out for breast cancer awareness. The Cougars (7-10, 2-4) hosted the Marian University Sabres (5-17, 2-4) in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference matchup. If there was a second theme to the night, it would be "Grace Heywood Night" as the senior outside hitter shined in the Cougars' 3-2 victory in five sets.
 
 
Inside the Box Score
  • Grace Heywood finished with a career-high 34 kills, which tied a school record (Kathy Krohe in 1996). Heywood's' 34 kills is the most in a five-set match in NCAA Division III since 2019. She also tallied 18 digs for her sixth double-double of the season.
  • Isabelle Vernengo set a career-high 54 assists.
  • CUC's set new season-highs in kills (60) and digs (86).
  • Seven different Cougars recorded a kill in the match.
 
The Cougars gained early momentum in Set One. Freshman Lili Hunt stepped to the service line and jumpstarted a five-point Cougar run. With two service aces during the stretch, CUC jumped out to an 8-4 lead. Marian responded a few points later with a five-point run of their own led by Anna Tapia. Marian led midway through the set 16-12. Heywood helped restart the offense with a big time kill on the 19-16 point. She led CUC with 8 kills in the set. Following a CUC timeout, Marian won four-straight points and won the set 25-18.
   
 
CUC came back in Set Two with a new attitude and gameplan. Heywood kept rolling and got help from Hunt and Katie Stonich. Both teams went back-and-forth at the start, but the Cougars went two-for-one with the Sabres towards the middle. Sophie Kovachevich's second service ace of the set gave CUC a 16-13 lead. Riley Shores led Marian's comeback, as they pulled ahead 23-19 on a seven-point run. The Cougars roared back to win five of the next six points, and tied the set 24-24 on a Stonich kill.
 
 
Marian took a 25-24 lead following another Shores' kill. A service error by Andrea Miller tied the game back at 25-25. Marian took the next point, but failed to put the Cougars away, as Hunt smashed home another kill. An attack error on Marian's Anja Ungerer led to CUC's first set point, but a Hunt attack error tied the set for the tenth time. She redeemed herself on the next point, and Heywood finished off the Sabres on her 12th kill of the set 30-28.
 
 
Marian took an early 2-0 in Set Three. CUC responded immediately and jumped back in front 5-2. Isabelle Vernengo, who facilitated the Cougars' offense all night, got in on the scoring fun with her third kill of the match to tie the match back at 9-9. She finished with 3 kills and a season-high 54 assists.
 
 
Both teams traded blows throughout the set. When CUC went up 13-10, Marian came back to tie it at 14-14 and later 17-17. Service aces from Marian's Andrea Miller and Reagan Jasica lifted the Sabres to a 19-17 lead. The momentum in the set sided with the Sabres until the Cougars called a timeout following the 23-20 Marian point. Marian gained set point after a Natalie Yankie kill, and won the set 25-21 on a service error from Vernango.
 
With Marian up 2-1, CUC needed to dig deep in Set Four. Marian came out of the break hot going up 4-0. CUC got back within one following a 4-1 run. The Cougars' biggest offensive push of the game started following two Marian errors. Freshman Brooke Christensen picked up her second service ace of the night to break a 9-9 tie. CUC then went up 18-13, despite two Marian timeouts during that stretch. Marian halted CUC for one point, but Eve Dickens kept the CUC offensive train chugging with her second kill of the night.
 
 
With CUC up 21-17, Marian's Serina Pehowski made things interesting with two kills and a block assist in a six-point stretch. The Cougars were forced to call a timeout up 23-22 following another Yanke kill. Heywood ended the set with back-to-back kills, as CUC won 25-22.
 
Set Five was arguably the most exciting set of the season. CUC took a 4-1 lead, but Marian kept knocking on the door. The pressure set in on both teams, as the next five plays resulted in attack errors. Just as she did in Set 2, Kovachevich placed a perfect serve in the back row for her third service ace. A double block from Hunt and Foley gave CUC a 11-6 lead heading into a Marian timeout. Three plays later, Freshman Kate Foley smoked a ball through a Marian double block for her fifth kill of the night.
 
 
Marian's final Hail Mary started with a service ace from Tapia, which brought the Sabres back within four down 13-9. Tapia's next serve went into the net and gave CUC match point. With her career performance, it only seemed fitting Heywood would have a storybook ending to the match. She got just that with the final kill of the match, as CUC won 15-10 in Set 5. Heywood's 34 kills tied Kathy Krohe's school record from 1996, and was the most kills in a five-set match in NCAA Division III since 2019.
 
 
The Cougars return to action tomorrow morning on Homecoming Saturday against the St. Norbert College Green Knights. The match is slated for a 12 p.m. start inside Geiseman Gymnasium. Coverage of the match can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
 
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