Top Four Seeds All Advance In Women's Volleyball Tournament
CHICAGO --- The quarterfinal round of the 2023 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Women's Volleyball Tournament went true to form on Tuesday night with all four top seeds advancing, three in the minimum three sets.
No. 4 seed Olivet Nazarene University (12-14) was the only squad requiring four sets before moving on to Thursday's semifinal round. Top-seeded Judson University (22-3), No. 2 St. Ambrose University (17-14) and No. 3 Trinity Christian (11-18) did not yield a set on the first night of postseason play.
That sets up Thursday's semifinal-round action with Judson hosting Olivet Nazarene and Trinity Christian traveling to St. Ambrose. Both matches start at 7 pm.
The two winners advance to Saturday's title match.
Recapping Tuesday:
Judson def. Indiana South Bend 25-9, 25-16, 25-23
Judson had little trouble in its first match with Alyssa Gerzel's 10 kills leading the way. Lindsay Lawlor set things up with her 28 assists, while Kenia Diaz Vega recorded 15 digs and four aces.
St. Ambrose def. Roosevelt 25-18, 25-13, 25-23
Mackenzie Grafton and Meredith Siebers each had 15 kills for the winners. Hannah Sondag authored 33 assists and four aces.
Trinity Christian def. Saint Xavier 27-25, 25-14, 25-13
Trinity Christian took down the two-time defending tournament champion behind 10 kills each from Taryn Hinken and Brooke Veldman. The two also combined for 10 blocks. Alexis Bartz ran the offensive show with her 30 assists, while Cecilia Zuniga took care of things defensively with her 12 digs.
Olivet Nazarene def. St. Francis 25-20, 25-20, 22-25, 25-23
Olivet Nazarene was tough defensively with 15 blocks on the night with four players averaging one block per set. Sabrina Sanif led the way with seven stuffs, while Molly Kurtz provided five. Also defensively, Sara Serafimova totaled 17 digs. On offense, the Tigers were led by Halle Nicholas' 16 kills and Hadleigh Loitz's 42 assists.
The complete tournament results and remaining schedule follow:
Tuesday, November 7 - First Round
• Match #1: No. 8 Indiana South Bend (5-22) at No. 1 Judson (21-3) --- 7 pm CT
• Match #2: No. 5 St. Francis (10-19) at No. 4 Olivet Nazarene (11-14) --- 7 pm CT
• Match #3: No. 7 Roosevelt (11-13) at No. 2 St. Ambrose (16-14) --- 7 pm CT
• Match #4: No. 6 Saint Xavier (11-14) at No. 3 Trinity Christian (10-18) --- 7 pm CT
Thursday, November 9 - Semifinal Round
• Match #5: No. 4 Olivet Nazarene (12-14) at No. 1 Judson (22-3) --- 7 pm
• Match #6: No. 3 Trinity Christian (11-18) at No. 2 St. Ambrose (17-14) --- 7 pm
Saturday, November 11 – Championship
• Match #7: Winner-Match #5 vs. Winner-Match #6 --- TBA (at site of highest remaining seed)