GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Cornerstone battled back twice from early deficits to earn a pair of dramatic five set victories on the opening day of the Davenport Panther Invitational. CU is now 12-7 on the year, as they will continue non-conference play with one more match DU tomorrow against Olivet Nazarene at 10 a.m.
Match 1 – Cornerstone 3, Trinity Christian (Ill.) 2 – 22-25, 25-21, 25-21, 18-25, 18-16
In a rematch against Trinity Christian College, the Trolls came out strong in the first set holding off the Golden Eagles 25-22 to avoid being swept by CU for the second time this season. Cornerstone then came out much stronger in the second and third sets recording a pair of 25-21 victories, hitting a combined .220 in those games.
CU lost its edge in the fourth set recording nine errors and just eight kills falling 25-18. The fifth set came down to the wire as CU got off to an early 4-0 lead due to back-to-back block assists by
Kendra Zwart and
Madison Herrema, but Trinity Christian battled back to record three match point opportunities. The Golden Eagles would not give up though, coming back for a match point kill of their own by
Alex Polakovich to win 18-16.
Match 2 – Cornerstone 3, Cardinal Stritch (Wisc.) 2 – 20-25, 23-25, 25-19, 25-15, 15-9
In match number two of the day, Cornerstone struggled early falling in the first set 20-25 and in the second set 23-25. The Golden Eagles hit under .200 in both sets while Cardinal Stritch hit above .240 in the first two games.
The Golden Eagles then exploded in the third and fourth set hitting .278 to win 25-19 and 25-15. CU kept it going into the fifth set winning eight of the last nine points for a 15-9 victory in the final game. The spark for Cornerstone came thanks to 20 kills from
Madison Herrema and 17 by
Kendra Zwart to lead the Golden Eagles.
Hope Leppink also recorded 40 plus assists for the eighth time this season in the five set victory.
Notes…
- Madison Herrema recorded a career high 20 kills in the win over Cardinal Stritch.
- Kendra Zwart recorded a career high 17 kills in the victory over the Wolves.
- Cornerstone is now 6-0 on the year in five set matches.
Up Next?
Cornerstone will finish the Panther Invitational tomorrow with a single match against Olivet Nazarene University at 10 a.m.
Volleyball Contact:
Aaron Sagraves
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