VALPARAISO, Ind. – Chicago State volleyball traveled to the state of Indiana for its final road match of the regular season, but host Valparaiso had other ideas in mind as it recorded a 3-0 (25-12, 25-10, 25-19) victory tonight at VU’s Athletics-Recreation Center. CSU saw its record fall to 0-24 and Valpo improved its season record to 21-8.
The Cougars captured an early 2-1 lead in the match’s opening set after a Valpo hitting error before the home team went on a quick 10-3 scoring drive to claim an 11-5 advantage. CSU then scored three straight points to pull within 11-8 following a service ace by junior Hanya Minta (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and another Crusader attacking miscue, but Valpo would finish the set by producing a 13-4 run to gain a 1-0 lead.
In the second set, the Crusaders broke a 2-2 tie with a 16-7 scoring run behind a combined six service points from seniors Angie Porché and Haley Wise to produce an 18-9 leading margin. After CSU received kills from sophomore Mazvita Maziveyi (Durham, N.C.) and freshman Kimberly Naut (Reno, Nev.) to pull within 18-11, Valpo recorded a set-closing 7-1 run that started and ended with kills from freshman Mary Dent.
Valpo started the third set with a 7-1 advantage with a pair of kills coming from junior Andrea Balsis and four service points from Porché. The visitors bounced back by scoring seven consecutive service points from the hands of senior Jean Keenan (Braidwood, Ill.) to claim an 8-7 lead after a Naut kill. Both teams then battled back and forth through seven ties and a couple of lead changes before the Crusaders scored the final six points to break a 19-19 tie to close the match.
Minta recorded her second straight double-double as she tallied 14 assists and a match-best 13 digs to lead Chicago State, while senior Niena Posey (Chicago Heights, Ill.) added six kills. Keenan recorded eight digs and two service aces and Naut contributed five kills with a pair of block assists.
Sophomore Katie Britton recorded a match-best eight kills to lead Valparaiso’s offensive attack, while Porché added seven kills and a match-high three service aces. Senior Kim Bukowski nearly tallied a triple-double as she posted 22 assists, 12 digs and seven kills for the Crusaders.
The Cougars close the regular season Saturday afternoon at the Jacoby Dickens Center against NJIT in the Great West Conference finale for both squads beginning at 2 p.m. Prior to the match, there will be a senior day ceremony that will honor the team’s four seniors – Keenan, Posey, Shamara Clark and Jessica Schmidt – for their contributions to the program.
~CSU~