Cornerstone University Athletics

 Grand Rapids, Mich. – Women's Volleyball held off the Yellow Jackets in a five-set thriller to advance to the WHAC Tournament Championship. After losing the first set, Cornerstone responded by taking set two 25-23. Defiance would rebuttal with a set three win to hold a 2-1 set lead, but the Golden Eagles would rally back taking sets four and five to knock out the Yellow Jackets. Aubrey Johnson led the Golden Eagles with 18 kills while Gabby VerBerkmoes tallied 17 kills and six total blocks. The Golden Eagles will face the winner of Indiana Tech vs Aquinas in the WHAC Tournament Championship on Saturday, November 14th with the match set to begin at 2 p.m.

Game Recap – #22 Cornerstone – 3 Defiance – 2 (22-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 15-13) 


First Set: Cornerstone – 22 Defiance – 25

• The match began with both teams trading points as Cornerstone got a block by Aubrey Johnson and Kaelyn Sohre.
• Defiance then went on a seven-point run to take a 9-2 lead over the Golden Eagles.
• Cornerstone battled their way back with two kills by Gabby VerBerkmoes and one from Gwyn VerBerkmoes to make it 9-7.
• The Yellow Jackets extended their lead over CU taking a 17-11 advantage.
• Kills by Aubrey Johnson and Josilyn Potter along with blocks by Gabby VerBerkmoes, Gwyn VerBerkmoes and Payton Hutchinson brought Cornerstone back within three.
• Gabby VerBerkmoes collected back-to-back kills to tie the first set at 19.
• Defiance retook the lead going up 23-20 then closed out the set with two kills to take a 1-0 set lead over Cornerstone.

Second Set: Cornerstone – 25 Defiance – 23

• The second set started as another back-and-forth battle as blocks by Aubrey Johnson, Kaelyn Sohre and Josilyn Potter made it 6-5 in favor of CU.
• Defiance went on a run to take the lead as they led the Golden Eagles 13-9.
• Two kills by Aubrey Johnson and one by Anastacia Trevino helped Cornerstone gain ground on the Yellow Jackets as they trailed 19-16.
• Back-to-back kills by Gabby VerBerkmoes moved Cornerstone within one as they looked to complete a comeback in set two.
• Aubrey Johnson tied the set at 23 before Olivia Endris ended the set with a service ace to give the Golden Eagles a 25-23 set two win. 

Third Set: Cornerstone – 22 Defiance – 25

• The third set saw Defiance take a 4-1 lead but kill by Gwyn VerBerkmoes and a service ace by Josilyn Potter brought Cornerstone within one.
• A service ace and two errors by the Yellow Jackets aided Cornerstone in tying the third set at nine.
• Defiance retook the lead and went on a run as they took a six-point lead over Cornerstone before kills and a block by Gwyn VerBerkmoes and Gabby VerBerkmoes brought the Golden Eagles within two.
• Cornerstone was able to stay close with Defiance as two kills by Aubrey Johnson made it 22-20 in favor of the Yellow Jackets.
• Defiance was able to defend against Cornerstone's comeback efforts and took set three 25-22.

Fourth Set: Cornerstone – 25 Defiance – 23

• Both teams continued to battle back-and-forth to begin the fourth set with Cornerstone coming out with a 7-4 lead off kills and a block by Aubrey Johnson, Kaelyn Sohre and Josilyn Potter.
• Defiance fought back to tie the set at nine but a block by Riley Pilat and Gabby VerBerkmoes along with a kill by Payton Hutchinson put the Golden Eagles back on top.
• Cornerstone maintained their two-point lead with another block by Riley Pilat and Gabby VerBerkmoes to make it 19-17.
• Aubrey Johnson collects three more kills as she kept Cornerstone ahead 23-22.
• The Golden Eagles secure the set four win on kills by Josilyn Potter and Riley Pilat to send the match to a fifth set.

Fifth Set: Cornerstone – 15 Defiance– 13

• The fifth set also saw back-and-forth action to start as two kills by Gabby VerBerkmoes tied the set at three.
• Riley Pilat collected an ace and a kill while Gianna Warwick and Gabby VerBerkmoes picked up kills to put CU ahead 7-3.
• Aubrey Johnson tallied back-to-back kills as she helped maintain the Golden Eagles lead.
• Defiance was able to gain momentum and roll as they took a 12-10 lead over CU.
• A service ace and a kill by Aubrey Johnson put Cornerstone back ahead while Josilyn Potter and Kaelyn Sohre closed out the game with kills to win set five and advance Cornerstone to the championship game.

What's Next
The Golden Eagles will face the winner of Indiana Tech vs Aquinas in the WHAC Tournament Championship on Saturday, November 14th with the match set to begin at 2 p.m.

Women's Volleyball Contact: Mason Young
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