East Peoria, Ill. - The 11th-ranked ICC volleyball team (3-2) was already off to a great start before their match on Wednesday night with Lake Land even began, believe it or not. They were indoors. While many teams in the area, and specifically at ICC too, have had to conform their schedules due to heat in the area, the Cougars were able to battle the Lakers on schedule and without a hitch. After a fairly convincing first set win, the scaled tipped somewhat. Errors were made, but despite them, ICC was still hanging right there. A close second set win and a close third set loss put the Cougars in the right mindset, capping the match with their most convincing set won (11 points) to end the evening with a 3-1 victory. 

SET ONE - #11 ICC COUGARS 25, LAKE LAND 15
The match started conventionally. The Cougars seemed to have the fundamentals to par, and other than the occasional error here and there, it was business as usual. The service game of Emily Cronkhite was key effectively all night, but especially in the first set. An ace from the sophomore gave ICC a 12-9 lead. 

Alas, it was more back-and-forth from there. In fact, towards the end of the set, the Cougars seemed stuck at the 23-point threshold. So close to capturing the set, but just not quite enough. It would ultimately be a block from the right side that gave ICC it's 25-15 set one win. 

SET TWO - #11 ICC COUGARS 25, LAKE LAND 23
The second set saw some errors find their way to being the focus of potential corrections on the Cougar side. Granted, it was definitely a quality front row for the Lakers, but the Cougars were able to dig down and correct the situations that gave the match the vibe it had at that point. Players like Emily Allison and Kaitlyn Baumann were key at the net, with their attacks pulling ICC to a more confident state of sorts. 

Using the efforts of Allison and Baumann, the Cougars also had some errors begin to roll in from the Lakers that perhaps boosted their confidence even moreso. Yet, it's important to not get too far ahead. ICC would need to call a timeout, trailing 18-17, in hopes of both stopping Lake Land momentum and not letting the set slip away. It would actually take another timeout at 23-22 Lakers as well. Back came the Cougars. ICC would finish the set on a 3-0 run and take a 2-0 sets lead by a 25-23 margin. 

SET THREE - LAKE LAND 25, #11 ICC COUGARS 23
Leading 2-0, the Cougars were in a good spot. They shook off a delay of game warning in the set's early moments and powered their way to forcing a Laker timeout at the 11-7 mark.

As ICC felt momentum sort of swinging in their direction, Cougar players could be heard voicing encouragement to trudge along, particularly the breaking up of the set into segments - first to 15, in this case. 

The Cougars would be the first to 15, when Allison came from the back row with a powerful swing that found the open court for a 15-13 advantage. 

Just 10 points from a sweep. Yet the Lakers kept pushing back, successful attack after successful attack. It was a call on the Cougars for their being out of rotation that tied the set at 20-20. From there, it appeared as if Lake Land would use that and run with it. ICC called timeouts at 21-23 and 22-24, but it was to no avail. Lake Land took the set, 25-23. 

SET FOUR - #11 ICC COUGARS 25, LAKE LAND 14
The fourth and ultimately final set seemed to have a bit of a different feel to it. An Allison kill made the Cougars' early lead 3-0, which became 5-0. 

There again were the Lakers, which after all makes sense, considering their ability to take the third set despite trailing 0-2. It was a receiving error by ICC that tied the set at 9-9. 

More back-and-forth volleyball, however, as another Allison kill put the Cougars ahead 15-11 and forced Lake Land to call time. This could definitely be seen as a moment to capitalize on. Capitalize, the Cougars did - and some. Lake Land would only score three points the rest of the set, part of an ICC 10-3 burst to finish the set and the match, 25-14.

SHE SAID IT - QUOTES FROM COACH TRACY HEFFREN
On the team's perseverance despite it maybe not being the 'cleanest' match:
"I was glad we were able to rally back in that fourth set after losing a close third set. I just told them 'this is the way we should be playing all the time'. It's early. There's learning things happening right now. Hopefully we can learn from this."

On the efforts of the front row in particular, and how she saw their rebound:
"For them, finding the open courts were important. Just the communication on the floor. We weren't always doing that, but when we did it, we were able to score pretty easily."

On the performance of Emily Allison in the match:
"Emily had a good night. She had a lot of hard swings. She started the season with several attempts, but maybe not as many kills. Now, she's narrowing that gap and finding ways to score more."

On how important it was to 'run with' the Lake Land timeout at 15-11 ICC in the fourth set:
"That's what I told them in that timeout. If we can just keep pushing and not play inconsistent, then we're going to run away with the game, and that's what we ended up doing."

On what she'd like the team to build on between Lake Land and the Illinois Wesleyan Scrimmage:
"I'm hoping that we're being more consistent on the floor, being more intentional. That's what we learned from this past weekend (Rockford). 

On if her daughter, ICC volunteer assistant/alum Courtney Heffren, could be a 'secret weapon' as an Illinois Wesleyan alum on Tuesday:
"Yeah, that's funny isn't it? I don't know. There are several girls still on the team, so who knows." 

STATISTICAL LEADERS FROM TONIGHT'S WIN:
Kills | Emily Allison (14)
Digs | Emily Cronkhite (19), Makenzie Pflederer (15), Emily Allison (11)
Assists | Maris Barclay (23)
Blocks | Amber Brawley (4), Jenna Ochs (3)
Aces | Emily Cronkhite (2), Makenzie Pflederer (2)

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
Scrimmage Match
vs. Illinois Wesleyan University Titans (0-0)
Tuesday, August 29th - 6:00 PM
@ Ramsey Gym - East Peoria, Ill.
WATCH LIVE (YouTube)