RIVER FOREST, Ill. – The Concordia Wisconsin women's volleyball team cruised to its second victory in three days in Illinois on Thursday night. The Falcons flew away from Concordia Chicago with a 25-17, 25-13, 25-19 victory. The victory extends the Falcons' winning streak to five matches and sends the Blue and White to 10-11 on the year and to 6-2 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference.
Concordia Chicago threw the first punch on Thursday night and leapt out to a 6-1 lead against the Falcons. Momentum quickly shifted back in favor of the Falcons and the early lead quickly evaporated. The Birds reclaimed the lead at 10-9 with a kill from sophomore Kayla Mulder (Whitehall, Mich.). The Cougars kept close, but CUW closed the set with a 7-1 run to walk away with the 25-17 victory.
The serve of senior Abby Proefrock (Grafton, Wis.) devastated the Cougars in the second set. The Blue and White rode her serve to a 7-0 run to take an 11-4 lead. The sensational senior rang off three-straight services aces to finish off the run. Sophomore McKenna Oetzman (Reedsburg, Wis.) also served a 5-0 run for the Falcons to elevate the lead to 19-6. CUC fought off a few set points, but a ball in the net ended the set at 25-13.
The serve of Oetzman frustrated the cats again in the third set as the Birds held a 5-0 run to start the third frame. Oetzman notched two aces in the run. The Maroon and Gold quickly responded with a run of their own and held a lead at 11-9. Concordia Wisconsin quickly shook off the Cougars and reclaimed the lead, winning seven of the next nine points. CUC closed the CUW lead to 17-15, but it was all Falcons from there. CUW used a 4-1 run at the end of the set to end the match, with senior Ashley Habermehl (Brookfield, Wis.) ending the night with a kill at 25-19.
Abby Proefrock caged the Cougars with five service aces, 10 digs, five kills and two blocks.
Ashley Habermehl led the match with nine kills on Thursday.
Senior Brianna Lundt (Rosendale, Wis.) led the match defensively with 18 digs and senior Paige Stickney (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) had a match-high three blocks.
McKenna Oetzman and junior Emily Dickmann (Grafton, Wis.) both tallied 13 assists in the victory.
The Falcons will remain in the state of Wisconsin for the rest of the regular season. Concordia returns to the R. John Buuck Fieldhouse on Saturday against Lakeland.
