MILWAUKEE, Wisc. – The Indiana University South Bend volleyball team suffered a heart-breaking loss on Tuesday night as they took on fourth-seeded Cardinal Stritch University in the opening round of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.
The fifth-seeded Titans took an early 2-0 lead, winning the first set 26-24 and the second 25-23. However, the host Wolves rallied to win three straight sets to end the Titans’ 2017 campaign.
Ashley McClintock (SR/Westville, Indiana) recorded 19 kills in her final match in an IU South Bend uniforms, extending her career kill tally to 1,481. McClintock added 15 digs and six block assists in the loss.
Sarah Allison (JR/Mishawaka, Indiana) finished with a triple-double: 16 kills, 31 assists, and 10 digs.
There was little separation in the opening set as neither team led by more than four points. Leading 23-21, IU South Bend committed an error and the Wolves followed it up with a pair of kills to take a 24-23 advantage. A kill and a block from Allison put the Titans ahead, with Morgan Fleming (JR/South Bend, Indiana) serving set point. Fleming found the floor for a service ace to give the Titans a 26-24 opening set victory.
The second set was close-fought just as the first one with neither team leading by more than three points. Ashli Drewes (JR/New Buffalo, Michigan) notched a kill to set the Titans up for set point. After the Wolves fended off the first set point, Sydney Lubinski (SO/South Bend, Indiana) sealed the win for IU South Bend with one of her five kills on the night.
Stritch used six straight Titan errors to open things up in the third set as the Wolves closed the IU South Bend lead to 2-1.
A stingy IU South Bend team fought off three consecutive set points in the fourth set before eventually falling 26-24 and sending the game to a decisive fifth set.
With the score even at six in the final set, Stritch went on a 6-0 run that included five IU South Bend errors to take a 12-6 lead. IU South Bend wasn’t able to recover from the back-breaking run as the Wolves completed the comeback bid with a 15-10 win.
IU South Bend finishes the season with a 14-16 overall mark as they made their third trip to the CCAC Tournament in the last four seasons.