LISLE, ILL. — Traveling off campus for some Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) action, the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) women's volleyball team was ready for a battle. They were hosted by the Benedictine University Eagles and the crowd was not ready for the show these teams were about to put on. After being locked in battle for five straight sets, the Cougars clawed their way past the Eagles with a final score of 3-2.
Inside the Box Score:
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Grace Heywood (Northbrook, Ill.) was a force both at the net and on defense, as she supplied a season-high 22 kills and a career-high 27 digs for the Cougars
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Right behind her was Akasia Brown (Addison, Ill.) and Lili Hunt (Greenfield, Ind.), who both secured career-highs of 14 and 11 kills, respectively
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Isabelle Vernengo (Plainfield, Ind.) was just one assist shy of her career-high with 53
Set One
The Cougars were on the hunt for a lead in this game and came out fiery in set one. It was a quick 5-2 lead for CUC, as Brown and Heywood both supplied kills. The Eagles would not die down easily and tried to find spots in the Cougars defense. However, Eve Dicken (St. Louis, Mo.) and McKayla LeVoy (Kankakee, Ill.) continued to stay strong at the net to keep Benedictine off guard 12-8.
Building off of their momentum, CUC got more action out of Brown and Heywood to bring the lead to 16-10. However, Benedictine would have a huge six-point rally and tie the game back up at 17-17. Locked tight into battle, Levoy made some magic and was able to bring the Cougars out in front 19-17.
The Eagles would be able to tie the game back up and then take their first lead of the game 22-20. The Cougars tried to find pockets to slam a ball down, but Benedictine would lock up their defense and take set one 25-21.
Set Two
This set would solidify the competitive nature that the rest of the game would prove to have. As these two opponents continued to lead and tie the game back up in the first few points, it was clear it would be a battle to the very end. Brown would be a huge part of the offense that had the game tied all the way up to 7-7. At this point, Benedictine would start to break away with a lead of 10-7. However, CUC had their eye on the prize, as Hunt secured a kill and a Vernengo-Brown block tied the game at 12-12.
The Eagles would take another significant lead and brought the score to 18-15. The Cougars were ready to rumble with Heywood and Hunt bringing the game tied again at 18-18. This lead and rebuttal between the two opponents would continue, as the game would re-tie itself back up at 21-21.
CUC would finally take the lead at 23-22 after a Levoy kill. With the lead intact, Katie Haidl (St. Charles, Ill.) would ensure this handedly with a service ace. To wrap up the Cougar win in set two, Brown slammed down the last point at 25-23.
Set Three
Nothing works better in the Cougars favor than a quick lead. CUC made sure of this to open up the third set, as Hunt and Brown would dominate and make the score 6-3. The Eagles were not going to make it easy and quickly took back the game to a score of 9-6. As the two foes battled for the lead, Levoy continued her stellar night at the net and brought the Cougars out in front 14-11.
Joining the party, Brooke Christensen (Blaine, Minn.) earned two kills, along with one from Brown, to start a huge rally for CUC. Eight of the next 10 points were all scored by the Cougars, bringing a huge lead forward of 22-14. This would be an all out team effort, as Heywood and Vernengo also secured kills of their own.
Benedictine would try and work their way back in this set, but it was all said and done on CUC's end. Heywood delivered the final blow of set three and secured the win for the Cougars 25-16.
Set Four
Set four was full of moments that completely stunned fans for both the Cougars and the Eagles. Benedictine took a swift lead and had the upper hand 6-3. Heywood would begin an onslaught of kills that would leave the Eagles defenseless, taking the game back 10-9.
Hunt and Brown would come in to assist Heywood, as they brought the Cougar lead up to 13-10. Benedictine was not going to go quietly and grabbed a five-point rally to take the set to 16-15 Eagles. Christensen and Heywood continued to be lights out and had the game all tied up 20-20.
As these teams crossed into the 20-point range, neither was willing to give an inch off the court. Brown and Heywood both found court on the opposing side and dragged the game into extra points at 26-26. With just a small amount of momentum ahead, the Eagles took set four with a score of 29-27.
Set Five
Heading into set five, it was clear the Cougars were not going to let this one get away. They led off with a 3-0 lead from a Christensen service ace and Brown kill. Following this, both Heywood and Levoy would connect at the net and pull CUC forward 7-5.
Benedictine was not going down without a fight and continued to fight back, tying the game up 9-9. However, Rachel Livesay (Medinah, Ill.) swooped in to deliver two service aces and truly turn the tide to a score of 13-9 CUC.
The Eagles tried to start chipping away at the score, but Heywood finalized the last two points to secure the Cougars their first win in conference. The Cougars would win set five 15-13 and the game 3-2.
The Cougars will stay on the road this week as they travel to St. Norbert College on Saturday for a 12 p.m. match. Coverage for all of our sports can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
