SEATTLE — The Chicago State women's volleyball team (9-4) took down the Seattle University RedHawks in a commanding win for the Cougars at a 3-0 clean sweep. (28-26, 25-23, 25-18).
The win marked the first Western Athletic Conference win for the Cougars, who have won nine of their first 13 matches.
In the first set, the Cougars pulled out in front early off of an attacking error from the Redhawks to which they quickly responded with a ferocious kill to tie it at 1-1. Later on, the Cougars pulled ahead, 19-14, behind fantastic outside offense from Yanlis Feliz and Nailah Jones, but Seattle U roared back.
The RedHawks forced a 25-25 tie to bring a nailbiting close to set one. Feliz and Seattle's Eve Kerschenbaum traded blows.
The Cougars were finally able to pull off the set win, 28-26, capped off with a kill by none other than Feliz and an attack error by the RedHawks. The Cougars now led, 1-0, overall.
To start the second set, the RedHawks bounced back quickly with a 5-0 run that forced the Cougars to take a timeout. Berenice Almeyda launched in a kill out of the timeout, and the Cougars came out of the time out and slowly clawed their way back, eventually tying the set at 14-14.
The Cougars and the RedHawks then battled on, matching each other point-for-point. Feliz and Jones were joined by Jaclyn Inclan, the transfer setter, who played a starring role down the stretch in the second set.
It wasn't until a 23-23 tie in which the Cougars, much like in the first set, finally established their superiority and won the set at a 25-23 final score with, the last kill delivered by Feliz once again.
The Cougars now headed into a third set with a clean sweep up for grabs.
The third set began with an attack error followed by a Feliz kill which brought on a 1-1 tie. Later, with Seattle U leading 6-4, the Cougars launched their most commanding attack of the night, dominating the set to pull ahead, 17-10, after a Jones ace.
The Cougars and RedHawks duked it out once again, yet the Cougars ultimately took the commanding lead which cemented their victory at 25-18 in yet another impressive showing for a 3-0 clean sweep set win.
Feliiz led both teams with 19 kills and 17 digs, while Jones added two aces. Inclan's 24 assists also led all players
The Cougars next face California Baptist University in Riverside, California on Saturday, September 25 at 3:00 p.m. before opening WAC home competition on Thursday, September 30 at 6:00 p.m.
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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