LIVONIA, Mich. – The Indiana University South Bend volleyball team saw its record-breaking season come to an end in heartbreaking fashion with a five-set Nationals Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Championship Opening Round match at the hands of Madonna University Saturday afternoon, Nov. 23 inside the Activities Center in Livonia, Mich.
The match marked the final of the careers of Robbie Berg, Madison Burger, Ashli Drewes, Samantha Hockstra and Sydney Lubinski, as well as the end of an unforgettable season by the Titans.
IUSB concluded the regular-season at No. 2 in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, its highest finish in program history and appeared in the league’s tournament championship for the second time in program history. The NAIA National Tournament appearance was also the second time in program history to go along with a program-best 22 victories.
Junior transfer and CCAC Co-Player of the Year Hannah Marchand led the Titans with a career-high 26 kills to go along with 13 digs for her final double-double of the season. Three other IUSB players registered double figures in kills including Julie Brown with 13 followed by Alexis Issette and Lubinski with 11 and 10, respectively.
Sophomore McKenzie Powell posted 63 assists to go along with five digs, four kills and three blocks.
A pair of seniors paced IUSB’s defensive efforts as Berg tallied a team-high 22 digs while Hockstra owned 20 on the day. Brown registered a team-high six rejections at the net for the Titans.
Madonna won the first and second sets by scores of 25-16 and 25-20 before the Titans forced a fifth and decisive set after winning 26-24 and 25-22 in the third and fourth. During the fifth, neither team led by more than one point until IUSB took a 12-10 advantage. The Crusaders rattled off three straight points to pull ahead 13-12 en route to a 16-14 victory to take the match, 3-2.