ELMHURST, Ill. – The Concordia Wisconsin women's volleyball team took a trip south of the border on Tuesday night for a trip to Elmhurst. The Falcons bounced the Bluejays, 25-14, 25-21, 23-25, 25-22 to improve to 9-11 on the year.
The serve of junior Emily Dickmann (Grafton, Wis.) broke the first set open for the Blue and White on Tuesday. Tied at five, Dickmann dropped four-straight service aces on Elmhurst to give the Falcons the lead. The Birds never looked back from there and a block from senior Noelle Smith (Davenport, Iowa) and senior Ashley Habermehl (Brookfield, Wis.) had CUW cruising at 18-7. A kill down the line for Ashley Habermehl ended the first set at 25-14 for Concordia.
The second set proved to be a bit more changing for the Falcons. It was an all-out battle with 15 ties and 13 lead changes. Trailing, 19-20, sophomore Kayla Mulder (Whitehall, Mich.) tied the set with a swing of her arm. The serve of senior Abby Proefrock (Grafton, Wis.) helped give the Falcons a 23-20 lead. After an Elmhurst point, Kayla Mulder struck again with another thunderous kill at 24-21 and Mulder and Noelle Smith were lurking at the net for a block to end the battle.
Elmhurst kept hope alive in the third set and carried the lead for a majority of the play. The Bluejays held a 21-16 lead. The Falcons fought back and a kill from Ashley Habermehl cut the deficit to 23-24. Elmhurst stayed alive with a kill on the next play.
Back-to-back kills for sophomore Olivia Ibeling (Cambridge, Wis.) gave Concordia a 5-2 lead to start the fourth set. The Bluejays clawed back, but the serve of Emily Dickmann dominated the Elmhurst defense once again and the Falcons rode a 6-0 run to quiet the comeback hopes at 14-7. The Bluejays kept pecking at the Concordia lead and cut the CUW advantage to 22-21 an 23-22. The Falcons ended the match by taking the final two points to win, 25-22.
Ashley Habermehl had 13 kills in the victory and Olivia Ibeling 10 kills.
Sophomore McKenna Oetzman (Reedsburg, Wis.) was cooking on Tuesday with a double-double effort of 25 assists and 21 digs to lead the flock.
Emily Dickmann finished with five service aces to lead the match.
Noelle Smith brought in five blocks against the Bluejays.
The Falcons return to the Land of Lincoln on Thursday night, when they resume Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play against the Cougars of Concordia Chicago.
