BEAUMONT, Tex. — The Chicago State volleyball team (12-7, 4-3 WAC) took down Lamar University Friday evening, winning its second consecutive conference match.
The Cougars won the first set, 25-15, the second set, 25-16 and rolled in the third, 25-15.
With a team-high 13 kills,
Yanlis Feliz continued her streak of double-digit kills, which moved to 28 matches (dating back to February 23). Feliz ranks sixth in NCAA Division I in kills per set, with 4.8.
In set one, the Cougars and Cardinals battled evenly to start, working to a 6-6 tie through the first 12 points. Then, kills from Feliz,
Berenice Almeyda,
Ezgi Dokuzlar and
Nailah Jones buoyed a run for the Cougars that resulted in a 9-6 lead.
Jones, Feliz and Dokuzlar continued to dominate from the outside as the Cougars' lead held firm through a 16-13 advantage.
Mesalina Severino then got in on the action, striking home a kill as a part of a dominant run to pull the Cougars ahead, 20-14.
With
Andrea Calderon serving, the Cougars scored the final five points of the set to win the opener, 25-15.
In set two, a slew of Lamar errors gave the Cougars a 4-0 advantage early. The lead quickly became 7-1 during a dominant Almeyda-led stretch, and CSU's firm grasp of the set was never in doubt. The Chicago State lead was later 11-4 when Feliz struck with a service ace, one of six on the evening for the Cougars.
As was the case in the opening set, the Cougars closed efficiently, winning the final four points for a 25-16 victory.
After losing the opening point of set three, the Cougars unleashed a 6-0 run, featuring two Almeyda aces, to make the score 6-1. In the subsequent stretch, Severino, Jones, Feliz and Dokuzlar all hammered home kills as the CSU lead ballooned to 11-4.
Feliz held steady, dominating down the stretch, with
Jaclyn Inclan also registering an ace to put Chicago State up, 18-10.
Four of the final five points went to CSU to clinch a 25-15 set three win and a 3-0 sweep of Lamar. The .310 hitting percentage the Cougars posted is the third-best of the season.
At 12-7, the Cougars have their most wins since 2004 and face conference rival UTRGV tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. in Beaumont.
About Chicago State
Chicago State University Athletics is comprised of 15 intercollegiate teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. CSU held memberships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and NCAA Division II before transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1994. Melvin Bland was the first CSU student-athlete to gain NAIA All-American status in 1974 as a wrestler. Fred Evans became the first black swimmer ever to win a national championship in 1975. CSU's women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational and CSU's men's basketball team won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament title and made an appearance in the CollegeInside.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). The Men's Outdoor Track & Field 4x100-Meter Relay team were 2019 Honorable Mention All-Americans and WAC Champions. Their feat marked the first time the Chicago State's men's track & field program was represented at the national meet.
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