CHICAGO — The Chicago State women's volleyball team lost to Mercyhurst 3-0 in Northeast Conference play on Friday (Nov. 6). 

After Nina Mitchell's opening kill helped CSU trade points to 2-2, Mercyhurst scored five straight to move ahead 7-2. The Cougars worked back within 9-7 as Nayella George, Graci Littlejohn and Mitchell put down kills during the push, but Mercyhurst moved back out to 15-9 behind a Madison Miner kill and an Anna Logan service ace. Mercyhurst later stretched the lead to 19-10 before CSU took four straight points, capped by a George kill from Hailee Collins, to close to 19-14. Roslyn Guerra helped Mercyhurst reach set point with kills for 23-16 and 24-16, and after the Cougars answered twice, Payton Melin finished the set at 25-18.

Mercyhurst put CSU in a 4-0 hole to start the second set, getting a Julia Shepherd kill and consecutive Alyssa Krause service aces before the Cougars worked back to 5-5 on a George kill, a Mercyhurst attack error and a block by Littlejohn and George. Mercyhurst moved back in front, but Chicago State stayed within 11-10 after a Kristine Bakhad service ace and later cut a 15-11 deficit to 15-14 on kills by George, Camryn McCollum and Littlejohn. Mercyhurst answered with three straight points to reach 18-14, then stretched the margin from 20-16 to 23-16 with a Kalyani Olive kill, an Olive/Erin Robbins block and a Camryn Ketron ace. Jenesis Perrin put down a kill after Mercyhurst reached set point, but Olive closed the set for Mercyhurst at 25-18.

CSU turned a 3-2 edge into a 9-2 lead, starting with a Rayon Thigpen kill and continuing through Kristine Bakhad's service turn with an ace and a McCollum kill. Mercyhurst answered with five straight points, including kills by Payton Melin, Mia Mattingly and Kalyani Olive, to cut the margin to 9-7, and Trinity Tatupu later served an ace that tied the set at 14-14 before Mercyhurst moved ahead 16-15. The Cougars pulled even at 16-16, 17-17 and 18-18 on a Mercyhurst attack error and kills by Nina Mitchell and Thigpen, but Mercyhurst later moved in front 22-19. Chicago State came back to tie it 22-22 with two block-assisted points involving George, Littlejohn and Perrin and another Mercyhurst attack error, but Mercyhurst scored the final three points and closed the set 25-22 on Tatupu's service ace.

Mercyhurst improves to 9-14 overall and 5-6 in NEC play while The Cougars are now 1-22 overall and 1-10 in NEC play.

Up Next
The Chicago State volleyball team hosts Mercyhurst University on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 1 p.m. at Jacoby Dickens Center in Chicago, Illinois. Saturday is senior day so please come out and celebrate our three seniors: Kristine Bakhad, Jenesis Perrin and Graci Littlejohn.