RIVER FOREST, Ill. --- The Concordia University Chicago women's volleyball team (5-5, 1-1) hosted their Division Street rival Dominican University (4-6, 1-1) Tuesday night. Thunderstorms were in the area at the start of the match, and the Cougars poured it on the Stars inside Geisman Gymnasium. After grabbing momentum early, the Cougars went on to pick up their first win against the Stars since September 18, 2008, by a score of 3-0.
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Inside the Box Score
- Katie Stonich (Sadieville, Ky.)Â had a match high 17 kills, which is a new season high.
- Grace Heywood (Northbrook, Ill.)Â picked up 14 kills on the night.
- CUC's 42 kills are the third most in a match this season.
- The team's 13 errors are a new season low (previously 16 vs. Loras on September 10th)
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Both teams battled it out in the early stages of set one. With six tied points and three lead changes in the set, the Cougars pulled away after a monster
Grace Heywood (Northbrook, Ill.)Â kill. Heywood picked up six kills in the set, and finished the night with 14.
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A few points later, the Cougars went on a seven-point run to make it 15-10 CUC.
Isabelle Vernengo (Plainfield, Ind.)Â picked up four set assists during the run, and finished the night with 33. The momentum sided with the Cougars for the reminder of the set after a spectacular rally.
Julia Beers (Mishawaka, Ind.)Â made a great dig following a Dominican block, and Heywood finished off the point in style. The Cougars would go on to win set one 25-19.
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The Cougars came out hot in the second set with a nine-point run, following an early 2-0 deficit.
Katie Stonich (Sadieville, Ky.)Â was the leading attacker for the Cougars with six kills in the set, and tallied a match high 17 in the end.
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CUC led the set at one point 18-7, but Dominican responded with their largest run of the night. Following the 18-9 point, Dominican's Olivia Mendell dropped a service ace down the line, which jumpstarted a 10-1 Stars' run. Maya Green picked up four kills in the set, and received help from Keely McCallum and Emily Shellhase.
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Dominican found themselves within two, 24-22, following a streak of attack errors by CUC. The Cougars' early lead in the set was just enough to fend off the Stars, as they won set two 25-22.
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After falling behind 5-2 to start set three, the Cougars put together another run of eight points. The Cougars relied on strong defense and took advantage of Dominican errors. The energy resided with CUC for the reminder of the match following a service ace from
Sophie Kovachevich (Huntley, Ill.).
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CUC won the third set 25-16, and picked up their first conference win of the season. The 3-0 win over the Stars ended an 18-match losing streak against Dominican, which dated back to October 6, 2009.
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The Cougars hit the road this weekend for the Rose-Hulman Volleyball Invitational in Terre Haute, Indiana. Their first match is on Friday, September 23
rd against Hanover College at 4:30 p.m. EST. They'll finish of the weekend with matches against Manchester University and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on Saturday. Coverage of those matches, and everything CUC women's volleyball can be found at cucougars.com.
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