Charlotte Takes Down Cougars, 3-1, in Windy City Classic Finale

By Sebastian Montoya, Athletic Communications Intern

CHICAGO — Rounding out the Windy City Classic, the Chicago State volleyball team (4-2) fell to Charlotte, three sets to one, 25-21, 23-25, 25-19, 25-21.

To begin the first set, each team began with a point of their own coming off of kills by none other than Yanlis Feliz, who came in hot off of her career-high 27 kills last night, and Emani Foster of Charlotte, bringing the score to 1-1.

The 49ers then went on a three-point run, with two of them on errors from the Cougars in what looked like a convincing run with a score of 4-1.

The Cougars then clawed their way back to a 6-6 tie, and this was the story throughout the whole set, seeing both the 49ers and the Cougars each bouncing back at one another causing several lead changes.

It wasn't until the score was 18-18 that the 49ers finally fought their way to a lead in an intense few final plays that featured eight consecutive kills by both teams capped off by Sydney Rowan's kill, which meant the Cougars tasted their first set defeat of the weekend.

In the second set, Sydney Rowan once again produced a stellar kill to open up the scoring at 1-0. 

The Cougars then committed an attack error which saw the 49ers go up 2-0, yet they quickly answered back with two kills by Feliz and one from Nailah Jones in between one kill by Nalani Lyde of Charlotte, which brought the score to a tie at 3-3.

The 49ers then answered back with an absolute onslaught scoring 11 points with the Cougars only putting up five in between, which forced the Cougars to take a time out to sort out frustrations trailing by six points at 14-8.

Frustrations were sorted, and the Cougars climbed their way back off of several errors by Charlotte and a kill by Jones at 17-16, which forced the 49ers to take a time out of their own.

From there, the Cougars and 49ers went at each other with several streaks from both teams, which led to a 23-22 score and the the Cougars sneaking their way back into this set, which forced a Charlotte time out once again.

The Cougars successfully tied it at 23-23 off of the time out by Charlotte and a mesmerizing service ace by Andrea Calderon. 

A chance to pull off an amazing come-back story was in-play for the Cougars and they rode with it and never looked back as they capped off the come-back with an outstanding kill by Jones. The Cougars won their first set of the game at 25-23 in an intense fashion producing a classic come-back.

To commence the third set, each team began with kills once again by Feliz and by Nalani Lyde of Charlotte, which saw the continuity of lead changes and ties that echoed throughout the whole set.

The result of the third set ended with the Cougars just barely losing out on a victory, with a score of 25-22 that saw the 49ers leading two games to one to commence the fourth set.

In the fourth set, the 49ers came in with set win momentum and gained an early 3-1 lead to which the Cougars were able to answer back and tie it at 3-3 with yet another powerful kill to add to her highlight reel by Feliz.

This set very early on echoed the previous set with lead changes and ties galore.

In the fourth and final set, Charlotte's Foster dominated en route to her team-high 21 kills, and the 49ers took down the Cougars, 25-21 to win overall, 3-1.

On set differential, the 49ers and Cougars are co-champions of the Windy City Classic. Final results are below and the All-Tournament Team are below:

2021 Windy City Classic Standings
T-1. Charlotte/Chicago State
3. North Dakota State
4. Niagara
 

2021 Windy City Classic All-Tournament Team

MVP: Sydney Rowan, Charlotte

Amani McArthur, Charlotte

Emani Foster, Charlotte

Yanlis Feliz, Chicago State

Berenice Almeyda, Chicago State

Andrea Calderon, Chicago State

Alexis Boling, North Dakota State

Ali Hinze, North Dakota State

Jaycie Roberts, Niagara

The Cougars are back in action on Friday, September 10 and Saturday, September 11 to kick off a tournament at the University of Illinois Chicago, facing Eastern Michigan, Belmont and UIC. CSU returns to the Jones Convocation Center on Thursday, September 30 against Utah Valley for Youth Volleyball Night. 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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