RIVER FOREST, ILL — Saturday afternoon, Concordia University Chicago (CUC) women's volleyball (11-14, 3-9) welcomed the Lakeland University Muskies (10-17, 8-4) to Geiseman Gymnasium for a Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference matchup. It was also Senior Day for the Cougars. Unfortunately, CUC could not pick up the win with Lakeland defeating them 3-1. 

-Inside the Box Score

• Two Cougars, Lili Hunt (Greenfield, Ind.) and Brooke Christensen (Blaine, Minn.), both hit double-digit kills with 12 and 10 respectively. 

• Malainna Adler (Fenton, Mo.) helped out offensively with her 32 assists. 

• Three CUC players had over 10 digs: Christensen with 11, Adler with 12, and Janelle White (Morton Grove, Ill.) with 15.

-How It Happened

Pregame

Before the match began, CUC honored five players participating in their last season of Cougar volleyball for Senior Day. Christensen, Akasia Brown (Addison, Ill.), Eve Dicken (St. Louis, Mo.), Shaira Marin (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico), and Katie Haidl (St. Charles, Ill.) were all celebrated for the time and effort they have contributed to CUC's women's volleyball program.

Set One

Once the first set began, the two teams found themselves neck-and-neck. The set was tied at 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, and 6-6 before Lakeland gave themselves some breathing room with four straight points to give them a 10-6 lead. 

CUC got back into striking range with consecutive points, but a three-point run from Lakeland put them back up by five, 13-8. The Cougars used a three-point spree of their own to pull back within two, but a 4-1 Muskies run made it 17-12 and forced a Cougar timeout. 

Concordia came out of the timeout firing, taking six of the next seven points to tie the game at 18 thanks to a kill from Christensen. The squads traded points for the next six scores until another tie was had at 21-21. This is where Lakeland put their foot down, scoring the last four points of the set to secure a 25-21 set one win. 

Set Two

The Muskies continued their hot streak into set two, quickly building a 7-4 lead. A pair of CUC points brought the Cougars back within one but four points in response by Lakeland jacked their lead up to five, 11-6. This forced CUC to take their first timeout of the set.

Out of the timeout, the Cougars earned two points back but two straight from Lakeland kept their lead at five. Lakeland then added another two straight points to make it 15-8. CUC would not go down quietly however, taking five straight points, highlighted by a block from Brown and Neva Foster (Parker, Colo.), to make it a two-point game. 

After a Lakeland timeout, the Muskies dropped three straight points to up their lead back to five, 18-13. The next six points were traded by the two teams until it was 21-16 Lakeland. Consecutive points from the Muskies made it 23-16 and forced the Cougars to use their final timeout of the set. 

Following CUC's timeout, Lakeland took another point to hit set point. A Muskie service error kept the set alive one point longer, but a Cougar attack error ended it in favor of Lakeland, who took set two 25-17. 

Set Three

An ace by Adler started CUC off with a point in a must-win set three. After the ace, the two teams began to trade points, which they did until it was 5-5. At this point, CUC rattled off four straight points, including three straight kills by Hunt, to take a 9-5 lead. Lakeland stopped the streak, but another three CUC points caused a Lakeland time out with the Cougars on top 12-6. 

Once the timeout ended, Lakeland scored three straight to pull back within three. A Muskie attack error ended their run, but Lakeland picked the momentum back up with another three points to cut their deficit to one. 

A Brown kill jumped CUC's lead up to two again, but another Lakeland point pulled them right back within one. Fortunately for Concordia, a 6-3 Cougar run set the score at 20-16 in their favor. 

A 3-1 Lakeland spree brought them within two, 21-19, before a Christensen kill made it 22-19. Lakeland hung around however, hitting the 20-point mark with a kill. But a pair of CUC kills brought them to set point before a Christensen ace ended the set in CUC's favor, 25-20.

Set Four

The Muskies came out hot in set four, jumping out to a 7-2 lead. CUC got a few points back, but a three-point spree from Lakeland made it 11-4 and caused Concordia to take a timeout. Concordia earned the point straight out of the timeout before scoring again to make it 11-6. A service error from CUC ended their run.

That service error did little to slow CUC down however, as after the error they went on a 6-2 run to pull within two, 14-12. The Muskies started to pull away again, using three straight scores to jack their lead up to 17-12. Concordia took their final timeout of the set at this point.

Following the timeout, CUC and Lakeland split the next six points. Back-to-back Cougar scores cut the Lakeland lead to three, but Lakeland picked up the next four points to bring them to match point, 24-17. 

The Cougars were not done yet however, scoring four straight to make it 24-21. However, one final kill from Lakeland ended any chance of a Cougar comeback as Lakeland won the set 25-21 and the match 3-1. 

-Up Next

The regular season concludes on Wednesday, Nov. 6, with a 6 p.m. game versus the Illinois Institute of Technology at home. The theme for the season finale is Jersey Night, and coverage for the match can be found at cucougars.com.