BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The Chicago State volleyball team battled it out against the Indiana State Sycamores, and the Cougars earned their first victory of the season, winning. three sets to one.
Yanlis Feliz led in kills with an outstanding 35 while both Whitney Barnes and Mesalina Severino added nine.
Set One : Chicago State 25, Indiana State 23
- Indiana State came out with a streak of two points off of a kill by Karinna Gall and a service ace by Emma Kaelin
- Chicago State answered back with one of their own off of a kill by Berenice Almeyda and an attack error from the Sycamores
- These events dictated the rest of the set which led to a 16-16 thrilling draw.
- Ultimately the Cougars closed out the set with a win at 25-23 with a ferocious kill by Yanlis Feliz
Set Two : Chicago State 25, Indiana State 19
- The Cougars came out hot and jumped to a 4-0 lead off of kills by Julieta Sandez and Feliz.
- The Cougars dominated throughout the set, outscoring the Sycamores 11-3 at one point
- This onslaught of points features kills by kills by Feliz and Almeyda, along with a service ace each by Whitney Barnes and Yunju Lee
- The Cougars finished off the set win with a stunning kill by Mesalina Severino at a score of 25-19
Set Three : Indiana State 25, Chicago State 22
- Indiana State came out hot and outscored the Cougars 6-2 early on
- Right after this streak, they produced another and this time outscored CSU 8-2 which now had them leading 14-6
- The Cougars retaliated back and came close at a score of 22-24 which forced Indiana State to take a timeout
- Ultimately, the Sycamores closed out the set with a kill and a win as they stayed alive, 2-1
Set Four : Chicago State 25, Indiana State 22
- Chicago State came out firing with a streak of two points off of a kill by Feliz and an attacking error by the Sycamores
- Nonetheless, Indiana answered back with two point of their own which tied it up 2-2
- These two events paved the way for the rest of the set as neither team was able to pull away from the other
- It wasn't until an 18-16 lead for the Sycamores that Chicago slightly began to edge Indiana as they went on a 6-7 run
- This run gifted them the lead with a final set score of 25-22 and a final game score of 3-1.
The Cougars next take on the Pacific Tigers in the Windy City Invitational on September 1 at 4 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. In 1991, the Chicago State women's tennis team became the first all-black college team to amass an unbeaten season at the NCAA level. 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, also making 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. Chicago State volleyball recorded a historic season in 2021, with Yanlis Feliz becoming CSU's first volleyball All-American and head coach Tony Trifonov earning selection as WAC Coach of the Year. During that same season, three different CSU teams earned victories over Big Ten opponents with men's soccer beating Northwestern, women's basketball upending Wisconsin and volleyball, which established a school record 17 wins and hosted a post-season volleyball tournament for the first time in program history, swept Indiana in Bloomington.
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