River Forest, Ill. - The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) women's volleyball team took their home court for the second consecutive match to face their Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference opponent, the Wisconsin Lutheran College Warriors (9-11). The Cougars would drop the first set, but answer back right away, taking the second set. Although scoring 20+ points in the remaining two sets, the Cougars could not finish the comeback in either, falling to the Warriors in four sets.
Inside the Box Score:
- Debanhi Moreno (Dallas, Texas) had a big day on offense, leading the Cougs in kills with 10 along with a service ace and four digs. Indiah Day (Merrillville, Ind.) and Ava Quevedo (Colorado Springs, Colo.) both chipped in with six kills as well.
- On the defensive side, Rosemary Brenner (Frankenmuth, Mich.) played a crucial role with 24 digs, leading the team in that category. Malainna Adler (Fenton, Mo.) contributed with 12 digs of her own.
- Bethany Roethel (Westby, Wis.) accounted for two service aces and two digs.
Here's What Happened
Set One
The first set was a nail-biter until the very end, as both teams exchanged the lead until the very last point. The Cougars would open the match on top thanks to a Warriors attack error and block from
Quevedo. While the Warriors opened up the scoring with a pair of service aces and Cougar errors, a kill from
Brynn Icenogle (Brentwood, Calif.) would bring Concordia within three. The Lutheran Warriors would go on to score three consecutive serves to give themselves a comfortable six-point lead. The Cougars battled back slowly, and eventually tied the match at 14 with a
Brenner service ace. An exchange of scores found the match tied at 24, and the Warriors would come out victorious in set one scoring twice consecutively on a Cougar attack error and a kill, moving them to set two 1-0 with a 26-24 final score.
Set Two
Set two did not start in the Cougs favor, as they faced an immediate 1-4 deficit. However, a great rally rounded out by a
Moreno kill would tie the set up at five apiece. A pair of kills from
Quevedo and a couple bad sets from the Warriors would put the Cougs back on top, 11-8. Neither team refused to battle again in set two, as teams exchanged the lead back and forth without either side seeing a big deficit. A kill from
Day and a Warriors attack error would bring the Cougars out on top of set two, with a final score of 25-21 and advancing Concordia to set three split 1-1.
Set Three
The Warriors opened the scoring of Set three on top after a Cougs service error, and would put together a quick 5-1 lead. The Cougars responded with kills from
Harmonie Cooper (Chicago, Ill.) and
Day to bring the score even at five apiece. Again we saw both teams battle, consistently exchanging points. Facing a 17-20 deficit after a tough exchange of points, a kill from
Moreno and a service ace from
Hailey Gomez (Kissimmee, Fla.) would bring the Cougs within one. Their efforts would fall short as the Warriors would score on three consecutive scores to put the Cougs away 25-20 and move into set four 2-1.
Set Four
Facing elimination, the Cougars opened set four with the lead thanks to a Warriors attack error and blocks from
Quevedo and
Beatriz Goncalves (Belo Horizonte, Brazil). The Lutheran Warriors responded immediately with a pair of kills and taking advantage of numerous Cougar errors, which would bring them to a 9-4 lead. A couple kills from
Moreno and a Warriors attack error would cut the Cougars deficit to just three. After a Cougs attack error, the Warriors began to seemingly run away with the scoring until a kill from
Jessalyne Perkins (Chicago, Ill.) would open a big rally for Concordia. After immediately scoring four consecutive scores, the Cougs lead 16-15. After an exchange of scores, the close-knit set would be tied again at 19 apiece. With victory in sight for the Warriors, they wouldn't look back, scoring on four consecutive scores. Down to their last chance, the Cougs would see a brink of hope with a Warriors attack error and block from
Quevedo and
Day. The comeback effort would fall short, however, as the Lutheran would close out their victory with a kill, resulting in a 25-21 victory in four sets.
What's Next
The Cougars fall to (7-13) and will travel to another Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference opponent, the Concordia Wisconsin Falcons (10-10), Thursday, October 22nd. The match will begin at 7 PM, and coverage for all CUC women's volleyball content can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
