Sweep of Davenport lifts volleyball into semifinals

Box Score

SYLVANIA, Ohio – The rubber match between Grand Rapids-area rivals went back and forth throughout the three sets, but the Golden Eagles had just enough at the end of each to post the 25-22, 25-21, 25-23 win. The victory lifts CU to 27-10 on the season and advances them to tomorrow's WHACs semifinals where they will meet No. 23 Madonna at 10 a.m.

How it Happened…
In a match that was decided by a total of nine points, Cornerstone was able to finish in each set to post their first sweep of Davenport since the 2008 season. The victory also keeps the Golden Eagles perfect against the Panthers in postseason play as they are now 4-0.

The opening set saw Davenport (21-19) hold a 20-17 lead but the Golden Eagles rallied to take eight of the next 10 points to win 25-22. During the run, CU got a pair of kills from Kendra Zwart (FR/Jenison, Mich.), one from Johanna Egerer (SR/Plymouth, Wisc.) as well as two blocks to lead 1-0.

The second set featured a tight one throughout as neither team held a lead of more than three but CU used three kills from Megan Newhouse (SR/Grand Haven, Mich.), Chelsea Lake (SR/Lake Odessa, Mich.) and Murphy Heyer (SR/Rockford, Mich.) as well as two DU hitting errors to take a 19-19 score and make it a 25-21 win.

The third set was again close throughout and after trailing 22-21, Cornerstone got back to back blocks from Kendra Zwart and Murphy Heyer to take a lead and they wound up winning the set 25-23 on a kill from Megan Newhouse.

Quoteable…
It is such an emotional match when playing Davenport but I am proud of our team for playing tough and playing our best at the end of each set when it mattered most. Amber Carmean (SR/Fruitport, Mich.) was outstanding tonight and we leaned on her defense." Head coach Ryan Campbell

Looking at Stats…
-   Amber Carmean had a season and career high 38 digs
-   Chelsea Lake led the way with 11 kills while CU got nine each from Johanna Egerer and Megan Newhouse
-   Hope Leppink (SO/Holland, Mich.) finished with 31 assists
-   Kendra Zwart (9 block assists) and Murphy Heyer (eight) led CU at the net defensively.

Up Next?
Cornerstone will take on No. 23 Madonna University on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. The winner will advance to the WHAC Championship match at 5 p.m.

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