The Wolves look to regroup after a tough first day in the 2009 CCAC Women's Volleyball Tournament
Joliet, Ill. – The Cardinal Stritch University women’s volleyball team opened pool play in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday, facing Illinois Tech and the University of St. Francis.
The Wolves struggled on both sides of the ball, but the most notable was their struggles to put the ball down on the attack. Stritch was outhit in both matches, as both IIT and St. Francis recorded over 20 kills more than the Wolves.
Stritch faced the IIT Trojans in their first match of the game. Though the Wolves came out a bit slow, dropping the first set 17-25, they quickly found their way back into competitive form. After falling behind 8-12 in set two, the Wolves used four Trojan errors and a kill by Ashley Wipperfurth (Sauk City, Wis.) to go ahead 13-12. From there Stritch extended the lead to four, as Shannon Petrack (Winneconne, Wis.) served two consecutive aces and Kaitlin Fisher (Mokena, Ill.) put down a kill. IIT however, fought back, using a strong offense to tie the set at 17-17. The two teams traded points until the end, when the Trojans finally closed the set, winning 26-24 on an Anna Flock (Norwalk, Wis.) hitting error.
Set three was more successful for the Wolves, as they quickly pulled away 6-1 on another service ace by Petrack. The Trojans couldn’t find a way to come back from the deficit, and the Wolves led by at least three points the entire set. This game was the high point of the Wolves’ offense all day, as they recorded a .312 hitting percentage, helped largely by eight Wipperfurth kills. Stritch finished set three with a six point advantage, 25-19.
The momentum swung back to IIT though, in the fourth and final set. Melissa Cheviron (Fort Wayne, Ind.) found her stride for the Trojans and put down seven kills, while the Wolves earned only four as a team. The lack of an offense made a win virtually impossible for Stritch, who fell 15-25.
Wipperfurth earned a double-double, carrying the Wolves with 14 kills and 16 digs. Jackie Schmitz (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) picked up four digs in the match. Petrack continues her hot streak at the net with four solo blocks and three block assists. The sophomore also shined behind the service line, recording five aces.
The second match of the day, against St. Francis, proved to be even more difficult for Stritch. The Wolves used a more spread out offense, but were still outdone 28-50. Defense also proved an issue in the match, as the Fighting Saints picked up 20 more digs than the Wolves.
St. Francis used an early run to jump ahead in the first set, 7-0. The large advantage was too much for the Wolves to come back from, especially with the offense of the Fighting Saints putting up an almost .400 hitting percentage. Stritch clawed their way back to within four on a kill by Katlyn Britton (Westby, Wis.), but that was as close as they came before dropping the set 15-25.
Stritch kept game two much closer, staying within a few points throughout. The Wolves evened the score ten times during the set, with the last time being at the 17-17 mark on a kill by Flock. Three Stritch errors, however, allowed St. Francis to pull ahead 20-17, a lead that they would never relinquish, as they took the set 25-22.
As the Wolves’ offense began to emerge in the third set, the defense practically disappeared. The Fighting Saints recorded a .483 hitting percentage while Stritch picked up a measly four digs total, two by front row player, Britton. Though Flock recorded four kills and Wipperfurth three, it was nothing compared to six kills apiece by Jazzmyne Robbins (LaSalle Peru, Ill.) and Sarah Ahline (Lemont, Ill.) of St. Francis. The Wolves fell in the final set by a score of 16-25.
Ahline recorded a match-high 18 kills for St. Francis. Lauren Hoffman (Plainfield, Ill.) earned 10 kills and hit .529 against the Wolves. Courtney Ambroush (Joliet, Ill.) led all athletes with 18 digs and Ashley Richards (Wilmington, Ill.) dished out a match-high 43 assists.
Flock led the Wolves with nine kills. Megan Galonski (Milwaukee, Wis.) picked up a team-high eight digs.
The Wolves fall to 10-21 with the two losses. They continue tournament play in Joliet, Ill. tomorrow. Stritch will face Trinity International at 12:00 p.m.