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, IL/Simeon) (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, MN/Eden Prairie) (Eden Prairie, Minn.) posting four straight service points as it claimed a 5-1 lead following a kill by junior Brittany Hale (South Holland, IL/Grand View (Iowa)) (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, NV/Galena) (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~
