CHICAGO – Chicago State volleyball returned to action tonight at the Jacoby Dickens Center after being idle for nearly two weeks, but fell to Great West Conference-leading North Dakota, 3-0 (25-8, 25-7, 25-16) in a conference battle. The Cougars fell to 0-22 (0-10) on the year, while the Fighting Sioux improved their season record to 18-6 (9-1).
UND jumped out to an early 8-0 lead in the first set off of the serve of sophomore Taylor Bohannon and later increased its advantage to 10-2 following a kill from senior Britta Hanson. The home team could get no closer than nine points as the Fighting Sioux finished the set with a 10-2 run behind three kills from sophomore Annika Smed.
In the second set, the visitors posted an 8-3 lead after a kill from sophomore Erin Joki. The Cougars later closed within nine points at 15-6 after a kill by freshman Rashonda Woods (Chicago, Ill.), but Smed produced five service points later in the set as part of a 9-4 scoring run that handed UND a 2-0 lead heading into the break.
CSU started the third set with junior Hanya Minta (Eden Prairie, Minn.) posting four straight service points as it claimed a 5-1 lead following a kill by junior Brittany Hale (South Holland, Ill.). The Cougars’ leading margin later increased to 8-4 after a kill by Jean Keenan (Braidwood, Ill.), but UND responded with six straight service points by sophomore Devin Treftz to gain a 10-8 lead. The home team later came back to score five of the next eight points to even the score at 13-all after a Fighting Sioux hitting miscue. The visitors then posted a 12-3 scoring drive with Treftz leading the way with five kills down the stretch to close the match
Hale and freshman Kimberly Naut (Reno, Nev.) each tallied four kills for Chicago State, while Hale produced a team-best 10 digs. Minta recorded 11 assists and seven digs, and Woods recorded five digs and two kills on the evening.
North Dakota was led by Trefz with a match-best 12 kills. Sophomore Danielle Luetzen tallied match highs of 24 assists and four blocks, while senior Lindsay Vortherms tallied a match-best 12 digs.
CSU returns to action this Saturday as it welcomes South Dakota to the Dickens Center for a Great West Conference match beginning at 3 p.m. The match will also serve as the team’s Lupus Awareness Match in which all fans are encouraged to wear purple for support.
~CSU~