RIVER FOREST, Ill. – The Concordia Wisconsin women's volleyball team put together a dominant performance on Thursday night, cruising past Dominican in straight sets. The Falcons controlled the match from start to finish, sweeping the Stars 25-8, 25-11, 25-11. The victory moves the Blue and White to 12-11 overall and 5-5 in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play.
The Falcons came out firing in the opening set, scoring the first 11 points of the match behind the serving of freshman Emy Miller (West Bend, Wis.). The early surge featured a pair of service aces from Miller and multiple kills from sophomore Kirsten Krause (Pocatello, Idaho) and freshman Brianna Stewart (De Pere, Wis.).
The Blue and White never looked back, building an 18-5 advantage before closing the opening set with a 25-8 victory. Concordia hit .364 in the opening frame while limiting the Stars to a negative hitting percentage.
The Falcons continued their offensive efficiency in the second set, hitting an impressive .500 with 13 kills and just one attacking error.
Concordia jumped ahead 10-4 behind a strong offensive showing from Stewart. The Falcons continued to build their advantage before junior Madison Cimbalnik (Sturtevant, Wis.) took over at the service line. Cimbalnik delivered three consecutive service aces to extend the lead to 18-7.
Krause helped put the finishing touches on the second set, recording three kills in the final six CUW points, including the set winner in the 25-11 decision.
The Stars put up their strongest resistance early in the third set, briefly taking a 5-4 advantage. The Falcons quickly regained control, with Cimbalnik sparking a six-point run that included two service aces to push the lead to 15-8.
The Blue and White slammed the door with an eight-point run behind the serving of Miller, extending the advantage to 24-10. Krause delivered the final blow with her 11th kill of the evening to complete the sweep.
Krause paced the Falcons with a match-high 11 kills while hitting .375. Stewart was nearly unstoppable at the net, finishing with seven kills on 10 attempts without an attacking error for a remarkable .700 hitting percentage.
Cimbalnik led the charge from the service line with five aces, while Miller added four of her own. The duo accounted for all nine of Concordia's service aces, compared to none for Dominican.
Senior Emily Dickmann (Grafton, Wis.) directed the offense with 16 assists, seven digs, three kills and four total blocks. Miller led the defensive effort with a match-high 11 digs while contributing five assists.
Freshman Bailey Bonde (Seymour, Ind.) added four kills on six swings for a .500 hitting percentage as the Falcons finished the evening hitting .321 with 31 kills and just six attacking errors.
The Concordia defense was equally impressive, holding Dominican to a negative .013 hitting percentage and just 18 kills across three sets.
The Falcons return home on Saturday to host Wisconsin Lutheran in NACC action at the R. John Buuck Field House.
