Rockford, Ill. - A new season kicked off for the ICC Volleyball team (2-2) on Saturday, as the Cougars would once again see the season's first serve come from the UW Health Sports Factory. After ICC dropped the season opener against Southeastern Iowa, the Cougars would win two of the final three matches, including a 3-0 sweep over Des Moines Area by the same score in each set and a five-set win over Williston State that saw two sets require 29 points to win. 

Southeastern Iowa 3, COUGARS 1:
The season got off to a quality start, when Ashley Urbanski subbed in in the latter moments of the first set and promptly got up for a set-ending block, and ICC took it, 25-20.

Meanwhile, the Blackhawks responded quickly with an 11-point set win, 25-14.

Sets three and four did see the Cougars fight through a closer margin, but the Blackhawks would ultimately take both, by scores of 20-25 and 22-25, respectively. 

Statistical Leaders:
Kills | Hope Allen (13), Gracie Schultz (10)
Digs | Hope Allen (14), Brynn Rossman (13), McKinley Daniels (11)
Assists | McKinley Daniels (23)

COUGARS 3, Des Moines Area 0:
An early kill from Sophie Adams gave the Cougars a 1-0 advantage. The lead would grow when Hope Allen found her way through the Bears' front row for a 13-7 lead. From there, it became a more back-and-forth battle, when the Cougars took the lead right back after the Bears had just taken their first. By set's end, Emily Allison placed a kill past the front row and out of reach of the back row for the 25-23 set score.

The second set was equally as close. Literally, come to find out. Gracie Schultz would rope a powerful kill from the middle for a 23-21 lead late, but a Des Moines Area player contacting the net would give the Cougars the set by the same 25-23 score.

So with two hotly contested sets to start the match and ICC ahead 2-0, it only seemed right for the Cougars to close out their first win of 2022 with a duplicate 25-23 score, ending the match with scores of 25-23, 25-23, and 25-23.

Statistical Leaders:
Kills | Gracie Schultz (13)
Digs | Emily Cronkhite (13), Brynn Rossman (12)
Assists | McKinley Daniels (21)
Blocks | Sophie Adams (5)

State College of Florida 3, COUGARS 1:
It was a bright and early start for the Cougars on their final day in Rockford, with a 9AM first serve against the Manatees from the State College of Florida lined up. The Manatees got off to a hot start in the first set. ICC was able to gain ground, but enough of a spread had been built that State College of Florida took the first, 25-21.

It was the Manatees' set to lose in the second frame, with their lead getting to 20-9 at the time the Cougars would call their last timeout. The two teams would draw at 5-5 the rest of the way for a 25-14 Manatee set win and 2-0 set lead.

A kill from Hope Allen had the Cougars as the first team to 10 in the third set. The lead would grow when Ashley Urbanski collected a kill for a 14-8 advantage. An attack error from the Manatees also had ICC as the first team to 20. Gracie Schultz added her name to the list with a set-winning kill to force a fourth set, with ICC taking the third set, 25-20.

It would look as if the Cougars were going to force a fifth set as well, tying the fourth on another Schultz kill, 20-20. From there, however, the Manatees would out-score the Cougars 6-4 and take the set beyond the 25-point threshold, 26-24.

Statistical Leaders:
Kills | Gracie Schultz (14)
Digs | Hope Allen (12)
Assists | McKinley Daniels (22), Hope Allen (14)
Blocks | Hannah Tellor (5)

COUGARS 3, Williston State 2:
Right from the onset, it looked as if this match would need a fifth set down the road, as a Hannah Tellor kill to wrap the first set gave ICC a 29-27 set win. Only then would the Tetons respond with a 25-18 set win for themselves.

The Cougars were once again the first team to 20 when Kaitlyn Baumann snuck one through the Williston State front row for a slim 20-19 set three advantage. Just as it was with the first set, the third would take more than 25 points to determine a winner. It would be the Tetons getting a kill for a 29-27 set win.

ICC would dominate the start of the fourth set, getting out to as much as a 16-5 lead on a Hope Allen kill. It would be a point spread that the Tetons couldn't recover from. Emily Allison would force an error by a member of the Teton back row, and that would give ICC a 25-16 set win and force a fifth. 

Baumann evaded the Williston State front row again, this time for an 8-5 lead. Sophie Adams would add to it with a kill to go up 13-8 and force a timeout. A draw the rest of the way would lead to ICC taking the match-deciding set, 15-10.

Statistical Leaders:
Kills | Kaitlyn Baumann (15), Hope Allen (10), Gracie Schultz (10)
Digs | Emily Cronkhite (19), McKinley Daniels (10)
Assists | McKinley Daniels (27), Hope Allen (21)
Blocks | Gracie Schultz (6)

Next Up
Wednesday, August 24th
@ Carl Sandburg Chargers
John M. Lewis Gym - Galesburg, IL
6PM First Serve
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