River Forest, Ill. - The Concordia University Chicago Women's Volleyball team was back at home to defend their home court where they hosted the CUC Tri. The team competed in two games today, playing against Lawrence University and Central College. Against the Lawrence University Vikings the Cougars reigned victorious taking the game 3-0. Against the Central College Dutch the Cougars fell 0-3. The Cougars went 1-1 on the day and split at the CUC Tri.
Game One
Inside the Box Score
- Rachel Livesay (Medinah, Ill.) led the Cougars in kills with 9.
- Lili Hunt (Greenfield, Ind.) was close behind with 8 kills of her own.
- Malainna Adler (Fenton, Mo.) had 32 assists in game one.
- Brooke Christensen (Blaine, Minn.) led with 13 digs and and also contributed 6 kills of her own.
Here's What Happened
Set One
The Cougars started out hot with two service aces from Shaira Marin (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico) and a kill from Christensen, with a score of 3-0 in favor of the Cougars.
After a few errors and kills from the Vikings, they were able to go on a 5-point run bringing them ahead 5-3, now in favor of the Vikings. After a few back and forth points between the two teams, the Cougars were able to go on a 4-point run led by Christensen and Hunt with kills, and a Bethany Roethel (Westby, Wis.) ace and brought themselves into a 4-point lead where the score was now 15-11. The lead continued on for the Cougars as they pulled off a 3-point run, which included kills from both Christensen and Hunt.
This increased the lead for the Cougars to 6. A few more back and forth points occurred between the Vikings and the Cougars but ultimately the Cougars maintained their lead and took set one 25-17.
Set Two
Set Two started with the exchange of 2-point rallies between both the Cougars and Vikings until the Cougars took off on a 10-point run, with kills from Akasia Brown (Addison, Ill.), Livesay, Adler, and two aces from Christensen, which brought them into an 8-point lead where the score was now 13-4 in favor of the Cougars.
The Cougars let up a little allowing the Vikings to get four points of their own, but the Cougars responded quickly and continued to dominate where they brought in a 5-point run led by a kill from Neva Foster (Parker, Colo.) and increasing the Cougar lead to 13. The score was now 21-8. The Cougars never looked back and continued to command the court. The last points can be credited to Foster with two kills, and Hunt with a kill of her own.
The final score was 25-11. The Cougars were up 2-0 and ready to take on set three.
Set Three
What would turn out to be the final set of the game didn't start so smoothly for the Cougars. Lawrence came out hot and contributed a montage of kills bringing them into a 2-point lead where the score was 7-5 in favor of the Vikings. A kill from Harmonie Cooper (Chicago, Ill.) assisted by Adler and a kill from Foster brought the Cougars back into the match where the score was now tied at 12-points a piece. A few attack errors from the Vikings brought them behind but the Vikings quickly answered with four kills which brought them back into the lead 18-16 in favor of the Vikings. It was a true battle until the end but consecutive kills from Livesay, Marin, Eve Dicken (St. Louis, Mo.), and Christensen would bring the Cougars to victory. The Cougars took set three and took game one of the day 3-0.
The Cougars had a game off and would compete against Central College at 4:00 pm.
Game Two
Inside the Box Score
Here's What Happened
Set One
Set One was a true battle. Both teams consistently shared points where the longest rally was a single 4-point run from the Dutch. The Cougars were able to tie the game in the beginning of the set, from attack errors by the Dutch. The score was even at five a piece. With errors from the Cougars and two service aces, the Dutch gained a lead where the score was 11-6, in favor of the Dutch. Although the Cougars tried to claw back, with kills from Jessalyne Perkins (Chicago, Ill.) and Rachel Livesay, and service aces from Micaela Barraza (Cape Coral, Fla.), the lead proved to be enough for the Dutch to remain ahead. The Dutch took set one with a final score of 25-21.
Set Two
The Cougars were able to gain a quick lead in set two, led with kills by Hunt, Livesay, and an ace from Perkins.
The score was now 4-1 in favor of the Cougars. Unfortunately, this was the one and only lead for the Cougars in set two. The Dutch would find themselves on a 12-point run, which would be ended by kills from Christensen and Perkins, but the score would still be in favor of the Dutch, 19-9. The Cougars were only able to score once more in the set with a kill from Christensen. The final score was 25-10, the Dutch. The Dutch were now up 2-0.
Set Three
The Cougars showed they were unhappy with how the first two sets played and wanted to change the narrative. With a kill from Christensen, and service ace from Roethel, the Cougars found themselves up 3-0 early.
The Cougars were unable to hold the lead for long as the Dutch quickly got back into a groove and brought the score up 8-6 in their favor, after two consecutive kills. Going on a run of their own, the Cougars responded with four points, two of which were service aces from Marin.
This brought the score to 11-9, now in favor of the Cougars. The set was a battle of 3-point runs, where each team would exchange in taking the lead. A final kill from Livesay would be one of the last points the Cougars got in the set. It was a fight until the very end, but the Dutch came out on top, taking set three with a final score of 25-19, and won the game 3-0.
What's Next
The Cougars will stay at home to defend their court for their next game against Eureka College, on Tuesday, October 1st. First serve is set for 6:00 pm and the theme is neon night. Coverage for all things CUC Women's Volleyball can be found at cucougars.com.
