Griffiths double-double leads Volleyball to NACC win at CUC

RIVER FOREST, Ill. – Hannah Griffiths recorded her ninth double-double of the season to help Concordia University Wisconsin win a 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-15, 25-23) road match at Concordia University Chicago at Geiseman Gymnasium on Friday night.

The Falcons were down a set to start the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference contest, before taking control. There were 25 scoring ties and 13 lead changes in the back-and-forth affair.

Griffiths (junior, Antigo, Wis.) recorded 17 kills and 17 digs to lead CUW to its first road league victory of the year. Freshman Karina Klotz (Hubertus, Wis.) had 23 assists and eight digs, while junior Carley Valentine (De Pere, Wis.) finished with 18 assists, 10 digs and five kills. Sophomore Kelsey Paramore (Tomahawk, Wis.) led the defensive efforts with 17 digs.

CUW served a season-high-tying seven service aces and hit .353 in the momentum shifting third frame.

Kristin Allen led CUC with 14 kills, while Bianca Gordon added 11 kills. Jenna Boggs put a double-double together with a match-high 35 assists and team-best 14 digs. Katie Hannon ended with eight kills and 13 digs.

CUW (8-13, 2-2 NACC) trailed by as many as eight points on several occasions in the opening set, but used an 8-1 scoring run to get within a point, 23-22. A Falcon service error, followed by a Cougar kill ended the first set.

Down by three points midway through the second frame, CUW answered by scoring seven of the next eight points to take a 19-16 lead. Both teams then traded points before the Falcons, led by a pair of Griffiths and Britta Duchow (junior, Potter, Wis.) kills, tallied the final four points to even the match.

CUW led by as many as seven points before cruising to a 25-15 third set win. During the frame, Griffiths smashed five kills and senior Ashley Faber (Kewaskum, Wis.) added three kills of her own, as the Falcons had 16 kills to take a 2-1 advantage in the match.

The fourth set featured 11 scoring ties and six lead changes. CUC (3-11, 1-2 NACC) took a four-point lead early, 8-4, before CUW knotted the stanza at 9-9. From then the scoreboard operator alternated points for each team until Klotz connected with Griffiths for back-to-back kills to give the Falcons a 24-23 lead. With the match on the line, the Cougars ended with an attack error.

CUW returns to play on Saturday afternoon with a 2 p.m. NACC match at Benedictine University.