RIVER FOREST, ILL. — After a momentous season opening up the Andrew Palmer era for the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) women's volleyball team, two Cougars have been chosen for the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) All-Conference Awards. Grace Heywood (Northbrook, Ill.) has been selected for All-Conference Second Team and Isabelle Vernengo (Plainfield, Ind.) for All-Conference Honorable Mention.
Heywood earned All-Conference Second Team after playing in 27 matches and 100 total sets. As an all-around player, she scored 421.5 total points, 368 kills, and 13 total blocks as an outside hitter for the Cougars. Leading the team in kills in almost every single game of the year, Heywood was sure to lead the team on the season in kills. Additionally, Heywood was able to lead the team on the back half of the court as well. She led the team in service aces with 46 and digs with 280. This marks her second All-NACC honors, as Heywood leaves the program 10th all-time in season kills and 3rd all-time in season attack attempts.
Vernengo was the second Cougar to earn All-Conference accolades, being selected for Honorable Mention. As the Cougars starting setter, she played in 27 matches and 100 total sets with a total of 883 assists. Additionally, she tacked on 256 digs and 31 service aces. In the beginning of her senior campaign, Vernengo passed the momentous 2,000 career assist mark. As a four-year Cougar, Vernengo finished third all-time in assists with 2860 and ninth in season assists. She finished her career as a four-time All-NACC honoree, three times Honorable Mention and one South All-Conference.
The Cougars finished off their season 10-17 overall and 4-9 in conference play. To stay up to date on all things CUC volleyball, follow them on Instagram and X at cuc_volleyball. Coverage for all of our sports can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
