CHICAGO – The Concordia Wisconsin women's volleyball team battled Illinois Tech in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference action on Thursday night. The Falcons fought back to claim the third set before falling to the Scarlet Hawks, 3-1 (21-25, 17-25, 25-21, 18-25), at the Keating Sports Center. The result moved CUW to 8-6 overall and 1-1 in NACC play.
The Falcons flew out of the gates and scored the first six points of the opening set. Sophomore Kirsten Krause (Pocatello, Idaho) landed an early kill before freshman Emy Miller (West Bend, Wis.) capped the opening run with a service ace.
Illinois Tech chipped away at the advantage and eventually pulled even at 12. The two sides continued to trade points, with freshman Natalie Nickolai (Sheboygan Falls, Wis.) helping CUW even the score at 20 with a block alongside freshman Brianna Stewart (De Pere, Wis.).
The Scarlet Hawks closed the set on a 5-1 run, however, to take the opener, 25-21.
The Blue and White battled back from an early deficit in the second set. Trailing 9-5, CUW rattled off six straight points behind the serve of Nickolai. Sophomore Kaylee Hlinak (Mishicot, Wis.) supplied a kill during the surge before Nickolai fired home an ace to give Concordia an 11-9 advantage.
Illinois Tech answered with a run of its own and pulled away late to take the second set, 25-17.
The Falcons refused to fold and came firing back in the third.
CUW jumped ahead 5-1 and maintained the advantage throughout the early stages of the set. With the Falcons holding a slim 14-13 edge, Nickolai stepped to the service line and helped spark the decisive run of the night.
Back-to-back kills from Krause pushed the lead to 17-13. Nickolai followed with an ace, and sophomore Lauren Kellner (Sobieski, Wis.) added a block before another Nickolai ace stretched the CUW advantage to 20-13.
The Scarlet Hawks made a late push, but the Falcons slammed the door. Freshman Bailey Bonde (Seymour, Ind.) put CUW at set point with a kill before Krause finished the 25-21 victory.
Illinois Tech regained momentum in the fourth set and built a 15-9 advantage. The Falcons continued to fight and pulled within two at 16-14 behind a block from senior Emily Dickmann (Grafton, Wis.) and Kellner, but the Scarlet Hawks answered and closed out the match with a 25-18 victory.
Krause paced the CUW attack with 13 kills, while Hlinak added seven. Bonde finished with six kills and three block assists, while Kellner chipped in five kills, one solo block and one block assist.
Dickmann directed the offense with 27 assists and added seven digs and two block assists.
Miller anchored the back row with a match-high 28 digs. Nickolai stuffed the stat sheet with 14 digs, three service aces and two block assists, while freshman Makenna Thompson (McCordsville, Ind.) collected 12 digs and two aces. The Falcons finished the night with seven total blocks and seven service aces.
The Falcons return home on Saturday to host Edgewood as part of Concordia Wisconsin's Homecoming festivities.
