Cougars Volleyball Drop 3-1 Match to UIC

The Chicago State volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to tournament host University of Illinois Chicago Saturday afternoon at the Flames Athletic Center on the UIC campus in the final match of the UIC Invitational. The Cougars finished tied with UIC at 2-1 in the tournament while, overall, CSU drops to 6-3. The Cougars can still tie the 2017 team for best start in CSU's Division I history at 7-3 with a win in its next match, Thursday, Sept. 16, against the University of Mississippi at the Indiana Invitational in Bloomington, Indiana.

Yanlis Feliz led the Cougars with 14 kills while Maria Lopez Torres Tapia added 12 and Berenice Almeyda 10. Jaclyn Inclan had 36 assists in the loss for CSU.

The Cougars won the first set, 25-21, but the Flames bounced back to win three consecutive, tightly-contested sets, 25-23, 25-23, 26-24.

Each of the sets were tight while the Cougars closed out the first set, winning five of seven points to extend its lead to 23-18 then held on for the 25-21 win. Trailing 24-19 in the second set, CSU reeled of four consecutive points to pull within 24-23 but a Flames kill sealed the second set win and knotted the match 1-1.

Chicago State almost extended the third set, scoring twice on Flames set points to pull within 24-23 but, once again, UIC earned the win with a kill. In the fourth and what turned out to be the final set, CSU appeared to be on the verge of setting up a match-deciding fifth set. Leading 19-17, the Flames scored three straight to take a 20-19 lead. Following a Cougars time out, Chicago State countered with two straight points to re-take the lead, 21-19. UIC rebounded with three points for a 22-21 lead. The Cougars tied it at 24-24 following a Feliz kill, but the Flames closed out the match with consecutive points for the 26-24 win.

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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