East Peoria, Ill. - It had been nearly two weeks since coach Tracy Heffren and the 16th-ranked ICC Volleyball team (9-7) had taken the court at Ramsey Gym. On the other side of the net were the Carl Sandburg Chargers (11-4), who had floated around the receiving votes group of teams in the national poll, and had swept the Cougars in Galesburg. After the first two sets were either lost or won with a fair share of errors, ICC turned on the jets the rest of the way, and took the third and fourth sets by 10+ point margins on their way to a 3-1 victory over the Chargers. 

SET 1 | CARL SANDBURG 25, #16 ICC COUGARS 22
The match's opening set was quite back and forth. Kaitlyn Baumann got up for a block from the left side for a 16-13 advantage, just enough of a lead to force a Carl Sandburg timeout. 

ICC would be the first team to 20 off an error from the Chargers, forcing the visitors' second timeout. 

As back and forth as it was, Carl Sandburg made the last push of the set to take it by three. 

SET 2 | #16 ICC COUGARS 25, CARL SANDBURG 23
The Chargers certainly got off to a quality start in the second set, getting up to a 7-2 lead to force ICC's first timeout. In fact, the set would get to a point where Carl Sandburg seemed comfortable. 

Even though the margin stayed around the five-point gap, the Chargers did call a timeout while ahead 15-10. From there, the Cougars closed in even further, with Jenna Ochs getting big kills to set ties at 17 and 18 points. Key front row play continued for ICC, with a Hannah Tellor block tying the set up at 19-19. 

The Cougars would avenge their opening set loss with a kill from Emily Allison to take the set by two points.

SET 3 | #16 ICC COUGARS 25, CARL SANDBURG 15
It was awfully evident in the third set that a switch had been flipped. Yes, ICC had won the second set, but something was different this time around. By the time the Chargers had used both of their timeouts, ICC was ahead 13-5, giving the Cougars a 12-point headway without Carl Sandburg having a timeout to use. 

After that mark, the momentum shifted heavily towards ICC. An Allison block put the Cougars ahead 20-13. The confidence that the Chargers had in the second set had switched.

Tellor found the open court for an ace and a 10-point set win. 

SET 4 | #16 ICC COUGARS 25, CARL SANDBURG 10
After the set break, momentum ultimately hadn't shifted. Another Allison kill put ICC ahead 7-1 early. A Charger error gave the Cougars a 13-4 lead and forced Carl Sandburg into a timeout. With ICC in control, there was no need for the second timeout by the opposition, and the Cougars rolled to their largest set win of the night. 

STATISTICAL LEADERS
Kills | Kaitlyn Baumann (19), Emily Allison (11)
Assists | Maris Barclay (31), Avery Urbanski (13)
Digs | Emily Cronkhite (18), Makenzie Pflederer (16), Hannah Tellor (15)
Aces | Three Players with 1 each
Blocks | Kaitlyn Baumann (6), Makenzie Pflederer (5), Hannah Tellor (4)

SHE SAID IT - QUOTES FROM COACH TRACY HEFFREN
On what changed in between the second and third sets:
"We finally figured out how to play them. For us, we finally figured out what we needed to do, and we just got our mojo back."

On how important some big kills in the mid-point of the match were to the Cougars' momentum:
"If we have aggressive kills like those, it definitely gets our momentum going and helps lead into the next point." 

On if there was a 'smelling blood' type of mentality as point margins began to widen:
"Yeah, we started playing with more confidence. We just weren't making errors, and were just stringing together more points in a row."

On if there was any concern within the 15-day layoff from having home court:
"No, actually. I think we were excited about being home because it had been for awhile. Looking forward to this weekend, and next weekend, since we'll be home then as well."

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
vs. Southeastern Iowa / Sauk Valley
@ Ramsey Gym - East Peoria, Ill.
Friday, September 15th - 2PM/6PM
Watch Live (YouTube)