RIVER FOREST, ILL. — Playing in their final home game of the 2023 regular season, the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) women's volleyball (10-14, 4-7) team welcomed the Sabres of Marian University (14-10, 6-5) into Geiseman Gymnasium. In need of a big win to gain ground in the playoff race, CUC failed to win a set against Marian, falling to the Sabres 3-0.
-Inside the Box Score
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Akasia Brown (Addison, Ill.) totaled eight kills, which led all Cougars.
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Meanwhile, the CUC lead for assists went to Isabelle Vernengo (Plainfield, Ind.) with 24.
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Two Cougars, Vernengo and Eve Dicken (St. Louis, Mo.), both registered double-digit digs, with Dicken's 11 tying the game high.
-How it Happened
First Set
Marian jumped out to an early lead, scoring six of the first seven points. Rachel Livesay (Medinah, Ill.) got a kill to cut the deficit down to 6-2, but Marian went on a 9-2 run to up their lead to 15-4.
Grace Heywood (Northbrook, Ill.) earned a kill to get CUC back within 10, but it did little to slow down Marian, who soon built an 18-6 lead.
Concordia was able to go on a 4-1 streak, highlighted by a Dicken service ace, which cut the lead down to 19-10. Both teams earned points at a consistent rate following the 19-10 score, which led to Marian walking away with a set one victory, 25-15.
Second Set
The Sabres's momentum continued into the second set as the first three points belonged to them, but CUC responded with a 6-1 run to go up 6-4, capped off with a Heyward kill. A Sabre attack error increased that lead to 7-4.
Marian did not stay down long however thanks to a five-point streak. Strong play from the Cougars put them back on top, 12-11, with a Livesay kill then making it a multi-point lead, 13-11.
The two foes then traded four and three-point runs, with Marian coming out on top 18-16. The next seven points were then traded back-and-forth before Marian scored back-to-back, up 23-20.
CUC showed signs of life late in the set, with a Lili Hunt (Greenfield, Ind.) kill bringing the Cougars within one of Marian, 23-22. But Marian took two of the next three points, good enough to win the set 25-23.
Third Set
Fighting for their match lives, Hunt and Heywood put Concordia up 2-0 early in set three. Marian caught up quickly and the squads were tied 10-10 eventually.
Following that tie, CUC fought its way to a 15-12 lead with a Kate Foley (Milwaukee, Wis.) kill bringing the Cougars 10 points away from set point. However, this lead did not last long as a four-point streak from Marian put the Sabres on top, 16-15.
Play was relatively even until, when Concordia was up 22-21, Marian utilized three straight points to bring up match point. The Cougars were not done yet however, taking back-to-back points to tie up the set at 24-24 and forcing extra volleyball.
Extra volleyball did not last long though. Back-to-back kills for the Sabres allowed them to win the third set and sweep CUC in Geiseman, 3-0.
-Up Next
It is all away games from here on out for CUC, and that stretch of play begins on Saturday, Oct. 28, at Lakeland University. First-serve is set for 12 p.m., and coverage can be found at
cucougars.com.
