CHICAGO — The Chicago State volleyball team (4-1) capped off a double-sweep Friday at the Jones Convocation Center, taking down North Dakota State in straight sets.
Yanlis Feliz racked up a Chicago State career high 27 kills as the Cougars won, 27-25, 25-21, 27-25.
In set one, the Cougars and Bison traded blows to the tune of a 6-6 tie before Chicago State launched a 4-0 run to force a NDSU timeout. Nailah Jones, who led the Cougars with 14 kills in match one of the day, tallied two kills in the spurt. Then, Feliz took over. She tallied three kills to keep Chicago State in command at 16-12.
A Bison run followed, tying it up at 17-17 on an Alexis Boling service ace followed by three more NDSU points to put the road squad ahead, 20-17. Then, CSU dug deep and launched a 7-2 run to cap off the set, with Jones, Feliz, Berenice Almeyda and Jaclyn Inclan all delivering kills. It was Feliz to deliver the final blow and give the Cougars a set one win at 27-25.
In the second set, Inclan kicked it off with a service ace as the Cougars opened at 4-0 on a few kills from the tandem of Jones and Feliz. The Bison hung around in the subsequent stretch, but the Cougars held a 15-11 lead art the media timeout. The closest NDSU would gets two points, at 22-20, but late kills from Feliz earned a 25-21 set two win to keep CSU perfect on the day.
In the final set, the Bison controlled most of the action early. NDSU led it, 6-3, after back-to-back Jones errors, but a Tanio Trifonov timeout preceded a 5-0 Cougars run to make it 8-6 CSU. Moments later, the Cougars were on top 14-9 on another Feliz spree. Down the stretch, the set got spicy. NDSU tied it at 20-20 on a few errors, and the two teams then sparred down the stretch, battling to a 24-24 tie on a Syra Tanchin stuff.
Tanchin then delivered a kill to pull the Bison ahead by one before Feliz again came through, delivering a game-tying kill to make it 25-25. Then an NDSU error and another Feliz kill clinched a 27-25 CSU win.
Feliz's career-high 27 kills came on a .426 hitting percentage. She also added 10 digs, while Inclan racked up 38 assists.
The Cougars will next face Charlotte at 2:00 p.m. as the Windy City Classic rolls on. The match will be streamed on the WAC Digital Network, and fans can click here to purchase tickets.
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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