The CCSU Women’s Volleyball team dropped the first of back-to-back conference matchups versus the Chicago State Cougars. Despite the 3-0 final, it was a hard-fought game against a great opponent.
Offensively, the fundamentals were lacking. Head Coach Alyssa Broccoli described it as a chain reaction.
“If we can’t pass, it’s pretty hard to run an offense,” She said. “Everybody has to do their job. I think our ball control when serving can be a little bit better. We pass off of the net then we hit our tempos, things should open up offensively.”
Defensively, the Blue Devils lacked toughness. Senior Captain Kaylin Hadley mentioned blocking as a point of weakness.
“I think blocking-wise, we need to press better on our blocks and not let them control us,” Hadley said.
The Blue Devils came out of the gates strong in the first set. Assisted by a number of mistakes from Chicago State, Central found themselves with a 7-4 lead before the Cougars called a time out. After kills from Lauren Milani and Olivia Keckler and a block from Amanda Tokam, the Devils were able to hold a 10-9 lead. Then, a dig from Weronika Poczynek and combined block from Tokam and Keckler kept them in front 12-11.
Chicago State was able to string together a 9-2 run that put Central behind 21-13. They weren’t done though, as they came out of a timeout with a kill from Milani. A huge dig from Annabelle Denomme and a kill from Keckler cut the Cougars’ lead to 5. Another kill from Milani left the score at 18-24, but Chicago State recorded a kill that concluded the first set, 25-18.
In the second set, Central was able to keep it close, with a kill from Milani keeping them in striking range, but poor communication allowed the Cougars to extend their lead by 5 points. Poczynek then started to heat up after struggling in the first set by recording 4 kills which left the score at 11-16, but it was too little too late. More miscommunication opened the door, and a 9-2 run by Chicago State ended the second set 25-13.
Once again, Central began the third set out front with a huge kill from Tokam. Chicago State then took charge, but two kills from Milani and an ace and a block from Tokam brought them back to within one point. After a 4-0 run from the Cougars, Central called a timeout to slow down Chicago State, but to no avail, as they couldn’t stop the bleeding and the Cougars won the final set 25-17.
The Blue Devils are back this afternoon for their second game of the back-to-back against Chicago State, looking to reset and capture their first conference win of the season.
