CHICAGO — The Chicago State women's volleyball team (0-7, 0-7 WAC) lost, 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-17), to New Mexico State (14-1, 14-1 WAC) Monday evening at the Jones Convocation Center. The Cougars captured the first set and threatened the Western Athletic Conference's top team in a tightly-contested match but fell in the end.
"It's encouraging that we're playing more consistent and improving," head coach Tanio Trifonov said. "Against the top team in the league, this was a very competitive match. The kids are showing a lot of fight. This will be a confidence-builder heading into tomorrow."
The Aggies scored three of the first four points in the first set with lone Cougars point coming on a NMSU service error. CSU knotted the score at 4-4 on a
Yanlis Feliz kill and at 5-5 on a kill by
Berenice Almeyda. Following a pair of Aggies points, Feliz recorded back-to-back kills. That, plus a
Mesalina Severino kill and an Aggies attack error, brought the Cougars to within one, 11-10. NMSU extended the lead to two and three points until CSU rallied from down, 18-16, to leading 19-18, on an attack error, a Feliz kill and another Aggies attack error. NMSU rebounded with consecutive points to regain the lead, 20-19. Chicago State closed out the set scoring six of the last seven points including the final five for a 25-21 first-set win.
The second-set start mirrored the first, with the Aggies claiming three of the first four points. NMSU extended the lead to 6-3 when a service error and a pair of attack errors by the Aggies knotted the score, 6-6. At that point the teams exchanged points when, knotted 10-10, two Severino blocks gave the Cougars a 12-10 advantage. The Aggies scored the next three to regain the lead, 13-12, then, following a NMSU service error, the Aggies scored four consecutive points for a 17-13 lead. The Cougars pulled to within two, 17-15, on a kill by
Nailah Jones but would get no closer for the remainder of the second set and the match was tied, 1-1, following the Aggies 25-20 second set win.
The third verse followed the same script as the first two, with the Aggies again scoring three of the first four points of the set. The Cougars quickly tied the set, 3-3, on a service error and a
Maria Lopez Torres Tapia kill. CSU would take its first lead, 5-4, following a Jones kill and Aggies attack error. The teams exchanged points and would find themselves tied on ten occasions until the Aggies reeled off five consecutive to points for a 20-15 lead. Trailing 22-16, the Cougars rallied and scored seven of the next nine points, highlighted by kills from Feliz and a pair by Jones. However, NMSU staved off the rally for a 25-23 win.
New Mexico State did jump out to a 3-1 for the fourth consecutive set, but this time extended the lead 8-1. Then, the Cougars scrambled back on consecutive kills by Severino, Feliz and Lopez Torres Tapia to pull to within three, 8-5. The Aggies scored four of the next five to go, up 12-6. Feliz registered a kill to cut the lead to 14-10 but CSU wouldn't get any closer in the fourth and deciding set and the Aggies went on for a 25-17 win.
Feliz led the Cougars with16 kills, followed by Almeyda with nine and Lopez Torres Tapia and Jones, each with seven.
The same two teams will face off tomorrow at 1 p.m. in the second of two meetings. The action will be streamed on the WAC Digital Network with
Sam Brief calling the action.
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