EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — The Lady Lions closed out the SIUE Cougar Classic on a high note, sweeping Chicago State in straight sets at First Community Arena to improve to 3-7 on the season.
The Lady Lions never trailed for long across the three sets, winning 25-23, 25-23 and 25-21 to secure the sweep. The first set was the most competitive of the match, with the two teams trading points before the Lady Lions pulled away in the closing stretch to take it 25-23. The Lady Lions carried that same resilience into the second set, building an early cushion and holding off a late push to close it out by the same 25-23 score. The third set saw the Lady Lions jump out to an early lead and control the pace from start to finish, closing out the match with a 25-21 win.
Karli Glover paced the Lady Lions' offense with a team-high 10 kills and led the team with 11.0 points on the day, while also chipping in 11 digs on the defensive end. Zuzanna Zietek was the Lady Lions' most efficient hitter, posting nine kills on a .278 clip to go with four digs and a block. Ngozi Nwosu added six kills and a team block, and Kennedy Adams contributed three kills while pacing the Lady Lions defensively at the net with three total blocks.
Martyna Lubowicz orchestrated the Lady Lions' attack, dishing out a team-high 20 assists, with Ava Miller also seeing time at setter and adding seven assists of her own. Kinsley Hooper led all players defensively with 16 digs, giving the Lady Lions a steady presence in the back row throughout the match. Kaylen Robinson made the most of her opportunities off the bench, hitting an efficient .800 with four kills on just five swings.
The sweep sends the Lady Lions out of the SIUE Cougar Classic on a positive note as they look to build momentum heading into the next stretch of the schedule.
