East Peoria, IL - It's always a highly-anticipated matchup when the 12th-ranked Illinois Central College Volleyball team (17-7, 3-1) does battle with the fourth-ranked Parkland Cobras (28-2, 5-0). Wednesday night was no different. The Cougars would storm out to a commanding 2-0 set lead, before momentum would fade away and the Cobras took the last three to win the match in five, 3-2. The loss snaps ICC's 11-match win streak and drops the Cougars to a second place tie in the Region standings with Heartland (3-1). 

#4 PARKLAND 3, #12 ICC COUGARS 2 (25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 19-25, 12-15)
Kills | Bella Gregory (13)
Assists | Shelby Emich (28)
Digs | Shelby Emich (24), Maddie Jones (37), Makenzie Pflederer (21)
Aces | Maris Barclay (2)
Blocks | Bella Gregory (6)

SHE SAID IT - QUOTES FROM COACH TRACY HEFFREN:
On the performance in the first two sets
"Yeah, we came out and definitely executed our game plan. We were able to pass. We were able to put the ball away when we wanted to. I think we kind of caught them off guard a bit, but executing what we'd been practicing was huge." 

On if the speedy start makes the loss more frustrating
"I just feel that we looked a little tired and couldn't push through that. It's one of those things that you have to be mentally and physically focused in for, and we just lost a bit of that focus." 

On what learning lessons can come from this loss
"It's a tough loss to have, but we were talking in the locker room - how much I felt, as a team, we had such good communication and energy, and everything like that, they just weren't able to execute, and that's the frustrating part." 

On how crucial the performance of Bella Gregory was to the match
"She's able to block and score as far as being a hitter goes, and she doesn't make a lot of errors. When she's on the court, our offense runs very smooth."

On preparation for the always-tough DMACC Tournament this weekend
"We talked about that - as well as we may have played tonight - wanting to carry that into the weekend. Just being able to learn from when we start getting tired, and really pushing through that." 

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
Des Moines Area Tournament
at The Den - Boone, Iowa
Friday & Saturday - October 4th & 5th
vs. Ellsworth, DMACC, #8 Iowa Central, #3 Kirkwood
4/6PM (Friday) | 9AM/1PM (Saturday)
Watch Live (ICCAC Sports Network)