Alverno College

MILWAUKEE – The Alverno volleyball team put up a strong showing against one of the top teams in the NACC on Tuesday evening, taking the Concordia Wisconsin Falcons deep into a trio of sets, as it was ultimately the Falcons to come out on top 25-22, 25-15, 25-18.
 
Sophomore Rolin West led the offensive attack with 10 kills on the night, as she added six digs on the defensive side of the ball. Senior Alex McMath was second on the team with seven kills, and also led the Inferno with 13 assists and had seven digs.
 
Junior Selena Upshur and freshman Natalie Onozie each had four kills on the night, as Upshur led the team with a .273 hitting percentage. Onozie had seven assists and five digs to round out her night. Sophomore Izzy Gianniou had two kills on three attacking attempts, while freshman Lynnica Harley had one kill.
 
Freshman Sharisty Kooch was tied with McMath for the team lead in aces, as the duo each collected a pair. Freshman Breann Flannery had a dozen digs to lead the defensive effort. Freshman Jalea Taylor led Alverno with two blocks, while West, Upshur, and Onozie were all credited with blocks on the night.
 
Alverno started the match with a quick attack, putting down six points to Concordia's one in the early stages of the match. The Falcons chipped the lead down to three, but a kill and an ace by McMath extended Alverno's lead to 13-8.
 
The Falcons were able to tie the set at 16, but Alverno returned the favor and evented the score at 18 behind a kill by West. Alverno refused to go down without a fight, closing the gap to 22-21 before Concordia collected three of the final four points of the set to take the set, 25-22.
 
In the second set, the Falcons jumped out to the early lead at 6-2 before Alverno closed the gap to 8-6 behind a kill by Gianniou. After Alverno got the score to 9-8 in favor of the guests, the Falcons rattled off five unanswered and eight of nine to take a 17-9 lead en route to a 25-15 second set win.
 
Concordia again was out to a quick lead, but not as mighty as the Inferno figured things out and closed the score to 6-5 in favor of the Falcons behind a kill from West. The Inferno kept it closed and within one points until a kill by McMath and a Falcon error tied the score at 11.
 
After Concordia scored the next five points, Alverno scored three of the next four, including a pair of kills by Upshur to keep the score within three at 17-14. The lead was just too much for Alverno to overcome as the Inferno dropped six of the next eight points, as the Falcons swept the match with a 25-18 third set score.
 
Alverno (7-5, 2-0 NACC) will get the weekend off before a pair of non-conference road matches beginning with Maranatha on Tuesday, September 27 at 7:30 p.m., before paying a return visit to Mount Mary on Wednesday, September 28 at 7 p.m.