Benedictine Delivers Heartbreaking Five-Set Defeat to CUW Volleyball
Box Score: BU 3, CUW 2
MEQUON, Wis. - Benedictine University delivered the Concordia University Wisconsin volleyball team a painful five-set match defeat (25-17, 18-25, 17-25, 25-15, 18-16) during Northern Athletics Conference play on Tuesday night inside the R. John Buuck Field House.
CUW (2-13, 1-3, NAC) dropped the first set, but fought back to win the next two frames to take a 2-1 advantage in the match. The Falcons offense stalled in the fourth set allowing the Eagles (9-9, 2-1 NAC) to tie the match and force a deciding fifth frame.
The final set featured eight scoring ties and five lead changes, but it was BU's 3-0 scoring in the end that propelled them to the exciting victory. The difference in the final two sets were the Eagles 24 kills - compared to the Falcons 15 - and five service aces in the fourth frame alone.
Senior Amanda Wilke (Oak Creek, Wis.) paced CUW with 13 kills, but nine attacking errors lowered her hitting percentage to .100. Junior Amanda Stahmann (Van Dyne, Wis.) added nine kills, while sophomore Ashley Faber (Kewaskum, Wis.) recorded 17 assists.
Defensively, senior Brittany Deinlein (New Berlin, Wis.) finished with a team-high-tying 14 digs with sophomore Lauren Gonring (Kewaskum, Wis.) who also had 14 digs. Freshman Gabrielle VanBeaver (Green Bay, Wis.) recorded four blocks.
Candice Cuppini led all players with 20 kills, while Abby Sattler recorded a triple-doube -- 42 assists, 12 digs, and 11 kills. A variety of BU players finished with service aces, while Molly Kovacich dug 16 attack attempts. The Eagles finished with a .123 hitting percentage compared to the Falcons .101 hitting percentage.
Both squads traded mini runs, before BU's offense found its rhythm behind Cuppini and Sattler who recorded a combined five kills during a 9-2 run. The Eagles earned an opening set win, 25-17, after the Falcons finished with an attacking error.
After dropping the opening set, CUW built a substantial 24-12 lead in the second frame before BU chipped away at the deficit and got it to within six, 24-18, after four-consecutive Falcons attacking errors. Deinlein ended the attempted comeback with a kill to give CUW a 25-18 frame win and match split, 1-1.
Ahead by just a point, 15-14, CUW capitalized on five-straight BU errors and a Wilke kill to extend its lead to 21-14. Wilke hammered home two more kills before the Eagles recorded two attacking errors to give the Falcons a 25-17 frame victory and a 2-1 lead in the match.
BU built a sizeable 16-8 lead, but three attacking errors and a trio of CUW kills cut its lead to 16-13. The Eagles regained their composure and built a 21-13 lead the Falcons couldn't overcome and went on to even the match with a 25-15 set victory.
CUW returns to the hardwood with its final match of a four-match homestand on Friday at 7 p.m. against Rockford College at the R. John Buuck Field House.
