RIVER FOREST, ILL. — After a week full of games for the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) women's volleyball team, they decided to end in style by hosting Senior Day. Hosting the Milwaukee School of Engineering, the Cougars had an incredibly exciting game against the Raiders and won 3-2. Five seniors were honored in Isabelle Vernengo (Plainfield, Ind.), Charissa Lind (St. Charles, Mo.), Haley Mohr (Pingree Grove, Ill.), Emma Schnegelberger (Dallas, Texas), and Sophie Kovachevich (Huntley, Ill.), as well as manager Savannah Schmitz (Waterloo, Iowa).
Inside the Box Score:
-
Staying on a hot streak, Grace Heywood (Northbrook, Ill.) led the offense with 19 kills, Lili Hunt (Greenfield, Ind.) followed behind her with a career-high 12 kills. Also securing another career-high was Heywood, who had six service aces
-
Honoring her senior night, Vernengo tallied up 48 assists
-
Picking up a huge career-high, freshman Bethany Roethel (Westby, Wis.) had 25 digs on the night
Set One
Starting off this game, the Raiders had a flood of points to begin 9-2. Heywood and Kate Foley (Milwaukee, Wis.) would be the fire starters for the Cougars, bringing the score to 10-6. These points would get traded back and forth until 14-9. After this, the Raiders went on another rally and took their lead to 18-9.
This is when CUC would make a response, fueled by blocks from Vernengo, Foley, and Akasia Brown (Addison, Ill.), to make it 19-14 MSOE. Foley and Hunt both picked up kills, as well as a Schnegelberger service ace, but it would not be in time to stop the Raiders. MSOE would win set one with a score of 25-18.
Set Two
To begin set two, MSOE would again start off hot, with a lead of 5-3. Heywood picked up a kill and Roethel served up a service ace to cut the score to 9-7. MSOE kept both hands on the wheel and took their lead up to 13-8. This is when CUC would hit the gas pedal, a Hunt kill and Heywood service ace brought the Cougars within one at 13-12.
This brought the Cougars around to taking their first lead of the game, thanks to kills from Heywood and Brown, as well as a Lind service ace, 17-16. The two opponents began to trade points back and forth, as well as the lead, until the last points of the set. Hunt brought another kill into her wheelhouse and had CUC trailing 22-21. However, the Cougars could not catch up to the Raiders and lost set two 25-22.
Set Three
This became do or die time for the Cougars, as the Raiders led the game 2-0. CUC was the team to hop out in front, thanks to multiple service aces and kills from every Cougar on the court 8-6. This opened up the floodgates for CUC, as they began to tie rallies together. Heywood would pick up a kill to make it 11-7, then Hunt joined in and brought the Cougars all the way to 15-9.
The party did not stop there, as Brown, Heywood, and Foley attacked from all angles to make it 19-10. With a huge lead intact, these three offensive powers continue to pour on the points for CUC 22-12. To end it off, Vernengo had back-to-back service aces to win set three 25-13.
Set Four
The Cougars were ready to take this game to set five and grab a big win for their seniors. The Raiders were the team to break off early in the beginning of the set 5-4. CUC had kills from Brown and Heywood, also a Rachel Livesay (Medinah, Ill.) service ace, to take the lead 8-5. Staying out in front, a Roethel service ace and Heywood kill made it 11-7.
Not going down easy, MSOE was able to tie the set back up at 13-13. Foley and Hunt helped bring the game ahead at 16-13. Again, the Raiders were not shut down and tied the game up for a second time 17-17. The Cougars made a huge final push for the lead with kills from Brown and Heywood, a Livesay service ace, and a block up front to make it 22-18.
Brown and Heywood kills would take this game into set five with a score of 25-22.
Set Five
Geiseman was electric with set five on the horizon between these two opponents. The Raiders made quick work of their points by taking a straight 5-0 lead. Following this, the Cougars had a six-point rally of their own. This consisted of back-to-back Hunt kills, two Heywood service aces, and a McKayla LeVoy (Kankakee, Ill.) kill 6-5 CUC.
Roethel and Hunt continued this rally and made the score 9-6. Lind secured herself a service ace as well, drawing the score to 11-8. The Raiders continually tried to take the lead, but the Cougars were strong in their fight. Heywood would put in the final point to make the score of set five 15-13. Making the Cougars victorious over the Raiders 3-2.
The Cougars will be hosting again on Thursday for a Division Street Rivalry matchup against Dominican University at 7 p.m. Come out dressed to impress, as the Cougars celebrate Tacky Tourist Night. Coverage for all of our sports can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
