River Forest, Ill. - The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) Cougars women's volleyball team was home to take on the Edgewood University Eagles for a quick matchup. After four sets of gameplay, the Cougars fell to the Eagles to a loss of 3-1.

Inside the Score Box:

• Beatriz Goncalves (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) showed up for the Cougars with 10 kills, followed by Rachel Livesay (Medinah, Ill.) with six kills and 11 digs.
• Indiah Day (Merrillville, Ind.) and Neva Foster (Parker, Colo.) both had five kills, Day coming in with six digs and four blocks.
• Lili Hunt (Greenfield, Ind.) also stood out with five kills, along with two digs and two blocks.

Here's What Happened

Set One

The Cougars were the first on the scoreboard against the Eagles, starting off with a fantastic block by Hunt. The Cougars led off the set with back-to-back points, keeping them in the lead. Day picked up her first kill of the night, pushing the Cougars farther ahead to 7-5; soon after a timeout for the teams, the Cougars continued to march ahead with the Eagles following closely behind. Ava Quevedo (Colorado Springs, Colo.) showed her skills with her work at the net. Malainna Adler (Fenton, Mo) set up Day for an amazing kill, putting the Cougars closer to their first set win of the night. While the Cougars maintained a 3-point lead, the Eagles regained the ball. After some rallying from both teams, the Cougars took the first set against the Eagles with a score of 25-23, going into set two in the lead at 1-0.

Set Two

In set two, the Eagles were the first to hit the scoreboard, with an Eagle delivering a brutal kill against the Cougars. Both teams managed to stay tied up in the beginning of the set, but the Eagles soon took the lead, 8-5. The Cougars were quick on their feet to retrieve the ball, but the Eagles were quicker at the net as they remained in the lead, 15-7. The Cougars continued to fall behind with 14 unanswered points hindering their success; with blocks from Harmonie Cooper (Chicago, Ill.) and Hunt, their defense fell short as the Eagles took the second set with a score of 25-11, pushing both teams into set three with a tie of 1-1.

Set Three

The Eagles were first on the scoreboard, obtaining two points before the Cougars made their way on the board. The Eagles made quick work on the scoreboard with a lead of 8-2; both teams stepped away for a timeout. The Cougars finally took back a point with a kill by Livesay, assisted by Adler. This success kept its rhythm as blocks from Cooper and Day put the Cougars closer to taking control over the Eagles. Even with major plays made by the Cougars, the Eagles continued to stay on top. The Cougars gave it their all, but the Eagles put another set win under their belts with a score of 25-14, going into set four as leaders with 2-1.

Set Four

The Eagles were first on the scoreboard in set four, with the Cougars coming in right behind them. The Cougars started off good with a block from Quevedo and a kill from Hunt, but the Eagles stayed in the lead. Bethany Roethel (Westby, Wis.) tried to stop the Eagles from hitting double digits with some low digs, but her efforts went unnoticed as the Eagles continued to lead with 10-7. The Eagles left the Cougars in the dust as they remained six points ahead of the Cougars, but celebrated too soon as they lost the point to a kill from Livesay. The Cougars quickly gained on the Eagles after a kill by Goncalves. This success was short-lived as the Eagles still kept their top spot. The Cougars upped their defense towards the end with a block by Cooper and a dig from Foster; ultimately, the Eagles took the fourth and final set of the night with a score of 25-20, dominating the Cougars with a final of 3-1.

What's Next

The Cougars will rest for a day before traveling to De Pere, Wis. to face off with St. Norbert College at the Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center at 12:00pm. Coverage of all things CUC women's volleyball can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.