CHICAGO (Oct. 15, 2009) – Chicago State volleyball (0-17, 0-6) continued its Great West Conference three-match homestand tonight, but fell to visiting Houston Baptist (9-15, 3-5), 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-14), in a conference showdown at the Jacoby Dickens Center.
The Cougars captured an early 2-0 lead in the first set thanks to a solo block by senior Niena Posey (Chicago, IL/Lincoln College) (Chicago Heights, Ill.) and a service ace from sophomore Mazvita Maziveyi (Harare, Zimbabwe/Hillside (NC)) (Duyrham, N.C.), but the visitors utilized a 12-3 run behind four service points from sophomore Jolie Graf and a pair of kills by junior Sarah Hazelwood to gain a 12-5 leading margin. HBU closed the set by scoring 13 of the set's final 21 points to earn a 1-0 lead in the match.
Magat and freshman Heather Leaverton recorded a combined 10 straight service points during the start of the second set as the Huskies built a commanding 15-5 lead. Freshman Kimberly Naut (Reno, NV/Galena) (Reno, Nev.) tallied back-to-back kills that helped CSU score 14 of the next 23 points to pull within 24-19, but a hitting error on the next play gave the visitors a 2-0 advantage entering intermission.
The third set saw HBU post an early 6-1 lead thanks to the serve of sophomore Courtney Whittleman that included a couple of service aces and the leading margin later increased to 11-4 following back-to-back kills from junior Paige Jenkins. CSU rebounded to post a 10-6 scoring drive to close its deficit within 17-11 after a Maziveyi kill, but the Huskies ended the match by tallying eight of the set's final 11 points for the win.
Maziveyi led Chicago State with nine kills, two service aces and two blocks on the night, while Naut finished with seven kills and Posey added a pair of blocks. Junior Hanya Minta (Eden Prairie, MN/Eden Prairie) (Eden Prairie, Minn.) recorded 18 assists and senior Jean Keenan (/) (Braidwood, Ill.) contributed 13 digs for the Cougars.
Leading Houston Baptist in the match was senior Liga Clemente, who recorded a match-high 10 kills and Magat guided the Huskie offense with a match-best 33 assists. Whittleman added a match-high 14 digs and Leaverton posted 11 digs, while Jenkins recorded eight kills and two block assists on the night.
CSU closes its homestand this Saturday afternoon with a Great West match against Texas-Pan American at the Dickens Center beginning at 2 p.m. The Cougars will also celebrate the match as part of the month-long Dig Pink rally that is sponsored by the Side-Out Foundation in order to raise money for research and awareness of breast cancer.
~CSU~
