GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – For the 49^th consecutive time, Cornerstone has defeated Concordia of Ann Arbor doing so in a five-set thriller at home. CU took the match 21-25, 25-20, 25-17, 19-25, 15-11 behind a career high 16 kills from Hannah Giere and eight blocks from Eliza Thelen. CU is now an even .500 in both regular season and WHAC play at 9-9, 4-4 WHAC as they have won three in a row. The Golden Eagles will hit the road tomorrow to take on Madonna for a 2 p.m. match. 

Game Recap: Cornerstone – 3 Concordia – 2 (21-25, 25-20, 25-17, 19-25, 15-11)
Set One:

• Cornerstone recorded the first two points of the set on kills from Jada Thomas and Kylie Barron. 
• Concordia responded right away with five straight points that saw two kills from Kayla Peters and a service ace from Leah Troyer. 
• The Cardinals would not relinquish the lead the remainder of the set despite it staying close. CU would cut the deficit to one on four occasions throughout the set. They used a big block from Kylie Barron and Aubrey Lenz to force a Cardinal timeout. 
• Concordia ended set one on a 4-1 run with back-to-back kills from Madalyn Lisman to take set one 25-21. 

Set Two:

• The Golden Eagles got off to a strong start in set two, going on a 5-0 run to lead 8-4. Kylie Andras recorded two service aces in the run and Hanna Giere combined on a block with Eliza Thelen. 
• The Cardinals continued to stay in the set with long rallies. Another big block from Eliza Thelen with Jada Thomas and a slide kill from Kylie Barron helped Cornerstone increase their lead back to four at 13-9. 
• Quickly Concordia was back within one at 14-13 on a Kayla Peters over pass kill and a service ace from Leah Troyer.
• It was Cornerstone this time that refused to give up the lead having a response for every CUAA run. CU increased their lead to five on a massive block from Aubrey Lenz and Eliza Thelen, 19-14. 
• A Jada Thomas kill forced a Cardinal timeout at 21-15. 
• The Golden Eagles held on to take set two 25-20 on another Jada Thomas kill evening the set score. 

Set Three:

• It was Concordia's turn to get off to a strong start, taking an early 6-2 lead capped off by a block from Jacey Powell and Jessica Peavyhouse in her first set appearance of the match. 
• A smart touch by Hannah Giere at the net gave her back-to-back kills and helped Cornerstone get back within one at 6-5. 
• The Golden Eagle response continued, resulting in an 8-2 run before the Cardinals used a timeout. Hannah Giere stayed hot with another kill along with two Kylie Andras servie aces as CU led 10-8. 
• Cornerstone continued to hit their spots with two more kills from Jada Thomas and Hannah Giere that helped increase the advantage to 16-11. 
• Emmalee Murphy took a turn finding her offense as she recorded three consecutive kills to force the second Cardinal timeout. Cornerstone cruised to a 19-11 advantage. 
• Concordia made their best effort to respond, but it was not enough as Kylie Barron carried CU down the stretch with two kills and a block to take set three 25-17. 

Set Four:

• Set four began with one of the longest rallies of the night that ended in a Concordia attack error. 
• CUAA once again made a big change in their lineup using Julianna Weems more. Weems recorded a huge solo block that put the Cardinals on top 8-4 and forced the Golden Eagles to use an early timeout. 
• Julianna Weems continued to be a massive factor for Concordia, adding another kill and block to double up Cornerstone 12-6. 
• Cornerstone continued to struggle to find their rhythm, using a timeout trailing 16-7. 
• CU responded with three straight points after the timeout with kills from Eliza Thelen and Hannah Giere, along with a block from Thelen and Jada Thomas. 
• The block continued to help Cornerstone chip into the deficit. Emmalee Murphy found herself involved in two blocks that brought Cornerstone within four. 
• Cornerstone would get within three, but it would not be enough as Concordia took set four 25-19 on an attack error. 

Set Five:

• Cornerstone dominated early in the fifth and crucial final set, going on a 6-1 run to start things. Aubrey Lenz recorded a kill to cap the run. 
• Concordia responded to cut the deficit to three with an Emiline Wood service ace. 
• Concordia could not get any closer though as CU cruised to a 15-11 set five victory with a Kylie Barron career high 14^thkill serving as match point. 

 
By the Numbers:
6 – Kylie Andras recorded a career high six service aces in the match. 
18/16/14 – Emmalee Murphy led CU with 18 kills while Hannah Giere's 16 and Kylie Barron's 14 were both career highs. 
51 – Aubrey Lenz surpassed 50 assists for the first time this season with 51. 
 
What's Next?
Cornerstone jumps right back on the road tomorrow to take on Madonna at 2 p.m. at the Alliance Catholic Credit Union Arena. 
 
 
Volleyball Contact: Jesse Campbell 
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