GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Facing the most adversity they have seen all season, the veteran Golden Eagles rallied from a two-set deficit to win a five set WHAC Tournament Championship thriller inside Mol Arena on Saturday afternoon. CU won 22-25, 25-27, 25-14, 25-13, 18-16 to secure the 2022 WHAC Regular Season and Tournament Title ahead of the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round. CU will now tune in to Monday's NAIA Opening Round selection show at 11 a.m. to find out their opponent and the location for Saturday, November 19 national tournament game. 

Game Recap: #20 Cornerstone –3 Indiana Tech – 2 (22-25, 25-27, 25-14, 25-13, 18-16)
 
Set One:

• After a long rally to start the match that resulted in a kill from Kylie Barron, Olivia Keelean recorded a service ace to put CU on top 2-0. 
• Hannah Giere got the start in the front row and recorded an early kill as well to help CU increase their advantage. 
• Indiana Tech would respond to cut the deficit to as low as one multiple times throughout the set. Kathryn Detweiler helped CU get the lead back to four mid set with a big kill continuing her strong weekend. 
• The Warriors would eventually take the lead late at 23-22 on a kill from Jacqueline Allaway to force CU to use their second timeout. 

• IIT would end the set on a 5-0 run to take a 25-22 victory on another kill from Jacqueline Allaway. 

Set Two:

• Another early service ace from Olivia Keelean helped CU get out to a 4-1 advantage in set two. 
• Tip kills put Indiana Tech right back in the set however with three of them to tie things at five.
• Momentum stayed in favor of Indiana Tech using a 5-1 run that saw three kills and a service ace to increase their lead to the largest of the match at 12-9. 
• Big blocks from Kylie Barron and Kathryn Detweiler kept CU in the set. The duo recorded three to spur a 7-1 run and take a 16-13 lead that forced a Warrior timeout. 
• The resilient warriors again would come all the way back to tie things at 19. 
• Kaylee Dykema shifted the momentum with a solo block to go back on top. Indiana Tech would use their second timeout trailing 21-19. 
• Indiana Tech tied things at 21 after a service error from Cornerstone and ace of their own. A kill from Olivia Keelean later made it 24-22 and gave CU two set points.
• The Warriors responded yet again with three massive kills from three different players. One of the kills was originally called an error from Noelle VanOort that would have ended the set in Cornerstone's favor, but it was overturned with a touch call.

• Indiana Tech took advantage of the overturned call and used a service ace on their first set point opportunity to take set two 27-25. 

Set Three:

• Rylie Walters got CU going in set three with four kills and a block to put the Golden Eagles on top 7-5. 
• Indiana Tech would use a timeout trailing 9-5 in set three. 
• After the timeout, the Rylie Walters show continued with another kill that increased the Cornerstone advantage to 11-5. 
• Olivia Keelean joined the offensive attack with a pair of kills that doubled up the Warriors score, 16-8. 
• This time Cornerstone would not let Indiana Tech back in the set forcing a second timeout with a 21-11 lead. 

• Olivia Keelean would close out the third set to keep CU alive with a kill to end set three 25-14. 

Set Four:

• Patsy Morris made three incredible dig saves in a single rally to keep the Golden Eagle crowd going early in set four, as Cornerstone went on top 7-1 to force an early Warrior timeout. 
• Cornerstone maintained their dominance with a 14-3 run to start set four. Morris continued to be dominant on the defensive end while Rylie Walters on the attack and Regan Vaugn at the service line spurred CU. 
• CU would increase the lead to 16-3 after the second Warrior timeout. 

• Cornerstone dominated from start to finish in set four as a Patsy Morris service ace gave them the 25-13 set four victory. 

Set Five:

• Indiana Tech found the early lead in set five with two Golden Eagle attack errors and a service ace from Havilyn Cummings to go on top 6-3. 
• A Warrior block from Havilyn Cummings and Taylor Paul increased their lead to four at 8-4 as the two sides switched sides and the Golden Eagles called timeout. 
• CU responded with a 5-0 run that saw three kills from Kaylee Dykema to go on top 9-8. 
• Indiana Tech was not done yet, going on top 13-11 as Taylor Sorg and Taylor Paul each recorded kill. 
• Indiana Tech had match point at 14-13 but a ball handeling error and a block from Kylie Barron and Kathryn Detweiler put CU at match point 15-14. 
• The Warriors returned the favor scoring two straight points after a Cornerstone service error to get another match point at 16-15. 
• The resilient Golden Eagles refused to give it up though, scoring three straight points on kills from Kathryn Detweiler and Rylie Walters, along with a service ace from Regan Vaughn to seal the match 18-16 in set five. 

By the Numbers:
48 – WHAC Player of the Year Patsy Morris demolished her career record for digs in a match with 48. Her previous high was 43 back in her 2019 freshman season.
14/.409 – After playing just the back row in the first two sets, Rylie Walters stormed the Golden Eagles back with a team high .409 hitting percentage and a team second best 14 kills. 
54 – Sophomore setter Aubrey Lenz also set a new career high with 54 assists in the win. 
 
What's Next?
Cornerstone will await their matchup for the NAIA Tournament Opening Round. Opponents and opening round locations will be announced on NAIA's Facebook live on Monday, November 14 at 11 a.m. EST. 
 
Volleyball Contact: Jesse Campbell 
CU Athletics: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Volleyball: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram