AURORA, ILL.- The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) Cougars competed against Aurora University (AUR) Spartans for a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) match on Thursday Night. Despite a hard fought battle, Cougars fell to Spartans in a 3-0 sweep.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Indiah Day (Merrillville, Ind.) spearheaded the offense, finishing with six kills, six digs and one service ace.
- Neva Foster (Parker, Colo.) tied the recorded team high six kills to lead the offense with half a block.
- Beatriz Goncalves (Belo Horizonte, Brazil), Ava Quevedo (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Jessakyn Perkins (Chicago, Ill.) , and Foster each made an impact defensively at net with a total of four and a half blocks. Goncalves with six assists, Quevedo and Perkins each added four kills to the Cougars board.
- Malaninna Adler (Fenton, Mo.) tallied both nine digs and assists for the Cougars.
- Rosemary Brenner (Frankenmuth, Mich.) notched 15 digs, five assists and one service ace.
HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED
SET ONE
The Spartans came out strong, opening the set with two consecutive kills to take an early 2-0 lead. Day put the Cougars on the board with a kill of her own, cutting the deficit to one. However, the Spartans quickly responded with three straight kills to extend their advantage. Perkins answered with a kill for the Cougars, bringing the score to 5-2. Following Goncalves' substitution into the lineup, she immediately connected with Quevedo for a kill. The Spartans responded with a point of their own but the Cougars battled back with back to back points off Spartan errors before Foster added a kill. With the Cougars trailing by just two, the Spartans shifted the momentum with a four point scoring run to widen the gap. Perkins recorded another kill for the Cougars, making it 12-17. The two teams traded points throughout the next stretch, but the Spartans maintained their six point advantage. They then took control of the set with a four point run, forcing the Cougars to call a timeout with the score at 19-9. Coming out of the timeout, the Spartans continued to dominate, capitalizing on three consecutive Cougar attack errors to push their lead further. The Cougars managed to put another point on the board before the Spartans answered with a kill. Quevedo and Foster added the final two points for the Cougars, but the Spartans remained in control and closed out the set with a 25-12 victory.
SET TWO
The second set opened with both teams battling back and forth, remaining tied at 3-3. Foster recorded a kill to give the Cougars the advantage, followed by another point off a Spartan attack error to extend their lead to two. The Spartans answered with a point, but the Cougars responded with back to back points to take a 7-4 lead. The teams continued trading points before the Spartans gained control with a five point scoring run, taking a 10-8 lead and forcing a Cougar timeout. Coming out of the break, Day and Perkins each matched the Spartans with kills to keep the Cougars within close distance. Both teams continued exchanging points before the Spartans called a media timeout. After the break, the Spartans gained advantage of the set, putting together four consecutive points to extend their lead to 19-12. The Cougars refused to back down, responding with a four point run of their own to cut the deficit. The Spartans added two more points before the Cougars answered again, bringing the score to 21-17. The Spartans added two more points to move closer to closing out the set, but Day connected on a kill off an assist from Adler to keep the Cougars fighting. However, the Spartans capitalized on Cougar attack errors to secure the second set with a 25-18 victory.
SET THREE
The Spartans came out in the third set, jumping to an early 3-0 lead. Foster put the Cougars on the board with a kill, but the Spartans answered with two consecutive points to extend their advantage to 5-1. The Cougars picked up another point before the Spartans responded with a three point run, stretching their lead to six. Following a Cougar timeout, Quevedo sparked the offense with a kill before the Spartans were awarded two consecutive points off attack errors, bringing the score to 9-5. The Spartans continued to build their advantage with a four point scoring run but Goncalves halted their momentum with a kill of her own, leaving the Cougars trailing 13-6. Both teams continued to exchange points, but the Spartans maintained their lead. Foster and Quevedo each looked to energize a late rally for the Cougars, but the Spartans capitalized on a final attack error to secure match point. The Spartans closed out the third set with a 25-12 victory, completing the sweep over the Cougars.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Cougars will compete against Milwaukee School of Engineering this Saturday, October 31st for a Pink Out game at 12 PM. Coverage for all CUC women's volley` content can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
