MARION, Ind. – The Golden Eagles split a pair of matches on Saturday as they fell in straight sets to a top 10 NAIA foe before bouncing back to win in straight sets. CU fell 25-10, 25-17, 25-23 to number eight Indiana Wesleyan before bouncing back to win 25-15, 25-22, 25-17 over Trinity Christian. Cornerstone stays .500 at 3-3 overall as they open WHAC play on Wednesday vs. Lawrence Tech for their next match back inside Mol Arena.

Game One Recap: Cornerstone – 0 #8 Indiana Wesleyan – 3 (19-25, 17-25, 23-25)
Set One:

• The Golden Eagles got off to a great start against the number eight team in the country in a true road contest. They scored the first three points of set one that saw an Emmalee Murphy kill and a block from Jada Thomas and Kylie Barron. 
• CU then added a 7-0 run to errupt to a 12-3 lead. Emmalee Murphy continued to dominate with three kills in the run. 
• Indiana Wesleyan found their rhythm later in the set and started to chip back into the set. They came all the way back with a 14-5 run to tie things at 17 and force a Golden Eagle timeout. 
• With the set tied at 19, the Wildcats scored six straight to take set one 25-19. The Wildcats ended the set on a 22-7 run. 

Set Two:

• Indiana Wesleyan started to take over in set two, using an early 4-0 run that saw a service ace and kill from Martina Demarchi to go on top 5-1. 
• Jada Thomas recorded a kill to cut it back to two, but another big Wildcat run put them on top 10-4. 
• A kill from Kylie Barron got Cornerstone back within two at 12-10. 
• An 8-3 Wildcat run forced a Golden Eagle timeout, trailing 20-13. 
• Alli Pickard recorded a service ace and Hannah Giere added a kill late in the set, but it was not enough as Cornerstone fell 25-17 on a kill from Martina Demarchi. 

Set Three:

• As Cornerstone looked to reset, Emma Whitley got them off to a great start with two service aces in a 3-0 run to open set three. 
• IWU responded with a 3-0 run that saw kills from Eva Joldersma and Marissa Mullins to tie things back up 3-3. 
• A kill from Emmalee Murphy gave Cornerstone their first three-point advantage since 3-0 at 15-12. 
• Indiana Wesleyan would continue to come back and tie things but were unable to take the lead. 
• In crunch time the Wildcats were able to regain the lead. A big block from Marissa Mullins highlighted a 3-0 run that put them on top 20-19. Cornerstone would use a timeout. 
• After the timeout, CU scored two straight including a block from Emmalee Murphy and Kylie Barron, but it would not last as Indiana Wesleyan took set three 25-23. 

 
Game Two Recap: Cornerstone – 3 Trinity Christian – 0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-17)
Set One:

• CU jumped right back in for their second match of the day, and it started with a pair of runs. Cornerstone got on top 4-1 with a Macy Ward service ace and a pair of kills from Eliza Thelen and Jada Thomas. Trinity Christian responded with a 4-0 run to lead 5-4 with two kills and a service ace of their own. 
• Eliza Thelen kept her strong play going with two more kills, as Cornerstone went on a 7-2 run to lead 14-10 and force a TCC timeout. 
• Hannah Giere added back-to-back kills later in the set to increase the Golden Eagle lead to 18-11. 
• Cornerstone cruised the rest of the way as back-to-back Troll attack errors gave them the 25-15 set one victory. 

Set Two:

• Set two started similarly to set one with early runs. It was Trinity Christian this time though that struck first, getting on top 7-3 with a pair of kills from Dej'a Williams. Cornerstone responded with six straight, recording five kills from four different players. Eliza Thelen was the only player to record multiple kills, taking a 9-7 lead. 
• Errors cost Trinity Christian. Cornerstone added to their lead with a 4-0 run all on Troll errors to force a TCC timeout. 
• Seven consecutive CU points came via a Troll attack error. CU led 19-14. 
• Trinity Christian came all the way back to get within one point. Another attack error would end the set in CU's favor though, 25-22. 

Set Three:

• Cornerstone got off to an outstanding start in set three, scoring the first four points. Aubrey Lenz and Emmalee Murphy each had a kill in the early run. 
• Kylie Barron and Macy Ward got involved in the run with a kill and an ace respectively to increase the advantage to 6-1. 
• Kylie Barron added two more big kills to put Cornerstone on top 12-5. 
• Jada Thomas joined Kylie Barron in the offensive attack down the stretch as Cornerstone stayed on top 17-11. 
• Cornerstone cruised the rest of the way as Eliza Thelen recorded the match point kill to take set three 25-17. 

 
By the Numbers:
2842 – Junior setter Aubrey Lenz is inching her way to 3000 career assists and should achieve it next week as she has 2842 after today's two matches. 
9/18 – Emmalee Murphy recorded nine kills in each game today to lead the Golden Eagles. 
99 – Head Coach Megan Lenhart is one win away from 100 in her Cornerstone career. 
 
What's Next?
The Golden Eagles open WHAC play on Wednesday vs. Lawrence Tech at 7 p.m. inside Mol Arena. 
 
Volleyball Contact: Jesse Campbell 
CU Athletics: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Volleyball: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram