IRVINE, Calif. – After playing their first ten games of the season on the road, the Concordia women's volleyball team was eager to play its home opener against conference rival Point Loma.
The exciting matchup featured two squads that entered the night a combined 5-0 in PacWest Conference action and the CUI student section was rocking from the moment the home starting lineup was introduced. A boisterous Flight Club was dressed in pajamas as part of the theme for the night and the students made their presence felt.
This conference clash ultimately went to five sets. The margin of victory was paper-thin as two of the sets that Point Loma won were by just two points, while CUI dominated in the two sets they secured entering the final set.
CUI ultimately fell behind in the fifth and rallied to stay within striking distance but the Sea Lions did just enough to prevail 15-10 down the stretch and emerge with a 3-2 win.
CUI was led on offense by SAAC representative
Kirra Schulz who placed 19 kills.
Kennedy Farley smacked 16 kills on 40 attempts and joined
Daniela Poles for the team lead with three aces.
Danielle McCasland chipped in with a career-high 14 kills while true freshman
Halli Hooks added eight kills and three blocks. Hooks hit .438 on 16 swings in her first home game for CUI.
Setters
Michelle Feliciano and
Devin Sivertson handed out 29 and 27 assists respectively. That duo also racked up double-digits in digs.
Recently named PacWest Defender of the Week Julia Wilson collected a team-high 25 digs on the back row, while Schulz added 14.
The Golden Eagles raced out to a 4-0 lead in the opening set after
Kirra Schulz placed a healthy swing to get the good times rolling. After falling behind 21-17, CUI rallied to score six straight and take a 23-21 advantage.
Daniela Poles sandwiched a pair of aces around a Point Loma timeout before placing her third in a row and forcing the Sea Lions to talk it over again.
As the two squads battled back in forth, Schulz and
Danielle McCasland each smashed a go-ahead kill. But the Sea Lions kept extending the set by evening out the score on the ensuing plays. Point Loma escaped with a 30-28 decision to take the opening stanza in dramatic fashion.
In the second set, CUI snatched a commanding 8-4 lead behind some good decision-making. CUI expanded that lead to 15-8 which forced PLNU to use both of its timeouts to regroup. Schulz landed six of her kills in this stage, helping CUI take set two by a count of 25-16.
After losing a heartbreaking 25-23 decision in the third, CUI jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the fourth set. CUI made Point Loma very uncomfortable and wound up cruising to a 25-11 win to force a fifth set for all the marbles.
The Golden Eagles are in the middle of stretch where they will play five of six matches in the friendly confines of CU Arena. Concordia visits Biola on Wednesday, Sept. 21 for its next conference match before hosting Azusa Pacific this coming Friday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.
CLICK HERE for the full CUI women's volleyball schedule
