GREENCASTLE, Ind. -- To kick off day two of the DePauw Invite, the Concordia University Chicago women's volleyball team took on the host team in the day's first match before taking on Kalamazoo.

Match One vs DePauw

Early in set one the Cougars and the Tigers played an evenly matched up contest. Going point-for-point for the first half of the set, the Tigers would eventually break free and jump on 6-0 scoring run. Continuing to battle, kills from Grace Heywood (Northbrook, Ill.) and Eve Dicken (St. Louis, Mo.) would keep the Cougars fighting, but not enough to overcome the final run the Tigers would make resulting in a 25-18 set one loss.

Fresh out of the first set the Cougars fought to stay alive. Short bursts of energy, including three kills from Katie Stonich (Sadieville, Ky.), two aces from Isabelle Vernengo (Plainfield, Ind.), and one ace from Brooke Christensen (Blaine, Minn.) would prove to be enough to take the second set 25-22.

As the two teams fought to win the match, they continued to each take another set. An opening kill from Heywood would hope  give the Cougars a spark for the rest of the match, but was quickly burnt out by a 5-0 run from the Tigers. As the Cougars fought to regain the deficit, big time kills from Stonich, Dicken, and Heywood would keep the fight alive. The Cougars ultimately fell in five sets to the Tigers with a set five score of 15-9.

Game one was led by the 16 kills from Heywood and 13 kills from Stonich.

Match Two vs Kalamazoo

Early in set one, the Cougars and the Hornets played a back-and-forth game. A four-point scoring stretch led by kills from Dicken and McKayla LeVoy (Kankakee, Ill.) gave the Cougars the advantage they'd hold onto for the remainder of the set. The Cougars went on another scoring run late in the first set led by three consecutive aces from senior libero Julia Beers, bringing the score up to 14-7. Despite the Hornets fighting back, the Cougars ultimately took set one with a final score of 25-15.

Kalamazoo started the second set with intensity, jumping to a 4-0 lead. With the Hornets dominating the early half of the second set, the Cougars quickly fell behind 13-5.  A 6-0 run for the Cougars followed shortly after with another 4-0 run that would bring the game to a one-point deficit. With both teams battling in a point-for-point set, the Cougars were finally able to go on a 4-0 run to win the set 26-24.  Big kills from Sophie Kovachevich (Huntley, Ill.), Heywood, and Dicken would prove to be the difference maker for the Cougars.

With all the momentum on their side heading into the third set, the Cougars jumped to a 9-1 lead right away. A midset run compiled of three consecutive aces from Vernengo would continue to light the way for the Cougars as they eventually closed the set 25-15.

The win over Kalamazoo was led by Heywood's 16 total kills, Vernengo and Dicken's five kills each, and Lily Hunt's four kills. Vernengo would close the day with 62 combined assists from the two matches while Heywood would put up for a combined 32 kills.  The Cougars close the DePauw Invite with a 1-3 record as they look to improve that at the Wheaton College Invite set for next Friday and Saturday, September 9th & 10th. Coverage for these games and all things Concordia Volleyball can be found at cucougars.com.