CHICAGO — The Chicago State volleyball team (2-1) fell in straight sets to Eastern Illinois in Saturday's nightcap following the first 2-0 start in the program's Division I history.
Nailah Jones led the Cougars offensively, tallying 14 kills and a .276 hitting percentage, while also adding seven digs and two blocks.
Andrea Calderon captained the Cougars defense, with 20 digs, while transfer Jaclyn Inclan racked up 34 assists.
In set one, the Cougars led, 20-18 after a spree from Berenice Almeyda and Yanlis Feliz, but Eastern Illinois rallied to win eight of the final 12 points, with TaKenya Stafford and Danielle Allen playing starring roles, as the Panthers took the first set, 26-24.
Set two, meanwhile, was all Cougars from the start, and it's precisely when Jones took command. The third-year Cougar racked up two consecutive kills, followed up by a Feliz kill and service ace, and Chicago State led, 6-2.
The lead then ballooned to 14-8 a bit later as the Cougars took advantage of a slew of Eastern Illinois attack errors. Down the stretch, the teams traded blows, with Feliz delivering a spectacular kill to make the score 18-14 CSU.
In the waning moments, however, EIU's Kylie Michael and Kameryn Sillmon took command and guided the Panthers to a 25-21 set two victory.
Set three featured another tight back-and-forth duel, in which the Cougars nearly pulled off a shocking comeback. Down 23-17, two aces from Maria Lopez Torres Tapia and two kills from Jones, plus an EIU error, tied the set up at 23-23. But the Panthers took the final two points, capped off with a Christina Martinez Mundo ace, to clinch a 3-0 sweep win.
The Cougars will next battle Niagara University at 12:00 p.m. as a part of the Windy City Classic on CSU's campus next Friday, September 3. For tickets, click here.
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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