Purdue Calumet Sports Update, August 31, 2015

Cordova Captures Men's Title; Purdue Calumet Takes Second at Northwest Classic
Led by a blistering finish by junior Alex Cordova, the Purdue University Calumet men’s cross country team took second place in the inaugural Northwest Classic Friday evening on the campus of Purdue University North Central.

Cordova (Hobart, Ind./Hobart) held the lead from the start and never looked back, as he finished with a field-best time of 16 minutes, 3 seconds in the 5-kilometer men’s race, which featured 40 total runners.

The Peregrine men, bolstered by sophomore Salvador Cordova's (Hammond, Ind./Bishop Noll) third-place finish (16:33) and Top 15 finishes from Justin Peterson (Grant Park, Ill.), Roger Jachna (Dyer, Ind./Lake Central), and Matthew Matthias (Lowell, Ind./Lowell), placed second as a team with 44 points, just behind team-winner Grace College (30).

Indiana Kokomo (67 points) was third to round out the Top 3 teams in the six-team event, which also featured Indiana Northwest (fourth, 104 points), Governors State (incomplete) and Roosevelt (incomplete).

Peterson just missed a spot in the Top 10 with his 11th place finish (17:34) while Jachna (14th, 17:44) and Matthias (17:56), a freshman running in his first collegiate race, weren’t too far behind.

Senior Fernando Pina (Hammond, Ind./Hammond) and sophomore Arturo Ruiz (Hammond, Ind./Clark) made it a photo-finish for 17th (18:09.5) and 18th place (18:09.8), respectively, as the two teammates raced to finish in the Peregrines’ Top 7.

Purdue Calumet returns to action Friday, Sept. 4, when the Peregrines’ travel to Channahon, Ill., for the University of St. Francis (Ill.) 5K Invitational.

TEAM RESULTS: 1. Grace College, 30; 2. Purdue Calumet, 44; 3. Indiana Kokomo, 67; 4. Indiana Northwest, 104; Inc., Governors State; Inc. Roosevelt.

PURDUE CALUMET: 1. Alex Cordova, 16:03; 3. Salvador Cordova, 11. Justin Peterson, 17:34; 14. Roger Jachna, 17:44; 15. Matthew Matthias, 17:56; 17. Fernando Pina, 18:09; 18. Arturo Ruiz, 18:09; 23. Mark Peters, 18:33; 25. Jordan Posthauer, 18:39; 30. Martin Estrada, 20:07; 32. Reese Mitsch, 20:07; 35. Michael Buckman, 20:50; 36. Dustin Pluard, 20:58; 40. Chris Rhodes, 24:20.

Freshmen Kubas, Baker Lead Purdue Calumet in Fifth-Place Finish
Two freshmen led the way as the Purdue University Calumet women’s cross country team placed fifth overall in the inaugural Northwest Classic 5K held on the campus of Purdue University North Central.

Sara Kubas (Orland Hills, Ill./Andrew) crossed the finish line first for the Peregrines, as the freshman finished 12th overall with a time of 21 minutes, 14 seconds in her first collegiate race. Classmate Amanda Baker (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln Way Central) wasn’t far behind, as she clocked in at 22:24 to finish 21st overall.

Grace College (32 points) went on to win the team portion of the event, while Indiana Kokomo (51 points) placed second and Purdue North Central (80 points) was third to round out the eight-team event, which also featured Roosevelt (fourth, 93 points), Indiana Northwest (sixth, 149 points) and Governors State (incomplete). Purdue Calumet finished with 118 points to place fifth.

Sophomore Christine Lewandowski (Whiting, Ind./Bishop Noll) ran a strong race to place 23rd (22:40) and freshman Megan Gliva (Beecher, Ill./Beecher) placed 29th in her collegiate debut with a time of 23:48. Rounding out the Peregrines’ scorers was sophomore Ashley Ulanwoski (Lowell, Ind./Lowell) with a time of 24:16 to place 33rd overall.

Purdue North Central’s Kyleigh Werner was the overall individual champion with a time of 19:14 — 18 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Katelyn McCullough (19:32) of Grace College.

The Peregrines return to action Friday, Sept. 4, when they travel to Channahon, Ill., for the University of St. Francis 5K Invitational.

TEAM RESULTS: 1. Grace College, 32; 2. Indiana Kokomo, 51; 3. Purdue North Central, 80; 4. Roosevelt, 93; 5. Purdue Calumet, 118; 6. Indiana Northwest 149; Governors State, Inc.

PURDUE CALUMET: 12. Sara Kubas, 21:14; 21. Amanda Baker, 22:24; 23. Christine Lewandowski, 22:40; 29. Megan Gliva, 23:48; 33. Ashley Ulanowski, 24:16; 35. Abigail Bondi, 24:40; 37. Georgina Diaz, 25:32.

Purdue Calumet Defeats Pikeville for First W; Bounces Back From Setback to Milligan
The Purdue University Calumet Volleyball team bounced back from an earlier loss to capture the Peregrines’ first victory of the season with a 3-1 win over the University of Pikeville (Ky.) in Friday’s nightcap at the Milligan Mountain Madness tournament, hosted by Milligan College, Tenn.

The Peregrines (1-1) defeated the Bears by scores of 25-19, 24-26, 25-16, 25-21 to rebound from an afternoon 3-0 loss to host Milligan.

Senior Akeelah Muhammad (Chicago Heights, Ill./Bloom Township) and sophomore Gabrielle Martin (Kankakee Valley, Ind./Kankakee Valley) led the Peregrine’s offense against Pikeville (1-2) with 11 kills each and freshman Jenna Pasko (Lansing, Ill./T.F. South) added eight kills.

Senior libero Samantha Basar (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) had eight digs and sophomore setter Carley Bartolini (Portage, Ind./Chesterton) had 31 assists for Purdue Calumet, which also got four block assists from Muhammad and two solo blocks from sophomore Kayla Elsea (Palmyra, Ind./Crawford County).

Earlier in the day, the host Buffaloes topped the Peregrines in three sets, 19-25, 19-25, 20-25 in the Peregrines' first match of tournament.

Muhammad again led the scoring efforts for the Peregrines, racking up eight kills while sophomores Martin and Carissa Jones (Whiting, Ind./Bishop Noll) each notched seven kills in the setback.

Bartolini delivered a match-high 30 assists in her collegiate debut and Basar led defensively with 12 digs for Purdue Calumet, which saw the Buffalos hit .308 for the match, compared to .117 for the Peregrines.

Purdue Calumet pulled off a big rally in the third set, falling behind 7-0 to start the game before battling back to trail by just three points, 14-11.

Bailey Thomas led the Buffaloes (2-0) with nine kills, Jessica Davenport added 23 assists and Grace Ann had 17 assists for the home team.

Purdue Calumet completes play in Tennessee with two more matches Saturday, as the Peregrines face Reinhardt (Ga.) (2-0) at 10 a.m. CT, followed by a match against Shawnee State (Ohio) (1-1) at noon.

Purdue Calumet Falls in Five-Set Thriller to Reinhardt; Completes Tourney Today vs Shawnee State
The Purdue University Calumet volleyball team fell in a five-set thriller to Reinhardt University, 3-2, Saturday morning in the second day of the Milligan Mountain Madness.

The Peregrines (1-2) battled back from a 25-23 loss in the first set to capture Sets 2 (25-17) and 3 (25-19), but the Eagles (3-1) responded by taking the final two sets, 25-21 and 15-13.

Freshman Jenna Pasko (Lansing, Ill./T.F. South) led the way for the Peregrines recording her first career double-double, notching 13 kills and 18 digs to go along with a solid .312 attack percentage.

Sophomore Gabrielle Martin (Kankakee Valley, Ind./Kankakee Valley) added a double-double of her own with 11 kills and 12 digs while senior Akeelah Muhammad (Chicago Heights, Ill./Bloom Township) racked up 12 kills and seven blocks in the setback.

Senior libero Samantha Basar (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) recorded a game-high 22 digs and sophomore setter Carley Bartolini (Portage, Ind./Chesterton) notched a career-best 38 assists for Purdue Calumet, which also got four block assists from Pasko and three total blocks from sophomore middle Kayla Elsea (Palmyra, Ind./Crawford County).

Elsea added six kills and sophomore Carissa Jones (Whiting, Ind./Bishop Noll) had six kills for a Peregrines' offense that recorded 52 total kills in the marathon contest.

Katelyn Wienbarg led Reinhardt with 19 kills and Sam Croce had 37 assists in the victory.

Purdue Calumet is currently in action in its final match of the tournament against Shawnee State (Ohio). Live stats are available for the match at http://www.dakstats.com/WebSync/Pages/Tournament/TournamentPage.aspx?association=10&sg=WVB&tour=1628

Purdue Calumet Falls to Reinhardt and Shawnee State
The Purdue University Calumet volleyball team fell in its final two matches of the Milligan Mountain Madness Tournament Saturday afternoon at Milligan College.

The Black and Gold (1-3) first fell in a five-set thriller to Reinhardt (Ga.) University, 3-2, in their first match of the day, followed by a 3-1 defeat to Shawnee State (Ohio) to end the team's opening weekend at 1-3.

The Peregrines battled the entire first match, coming back from a 25-23 loss in the first set, to then capture Sets 2 (25-17) and 3 (25-19), but the Eagles responded by taking the final two sets, 25-21 and 15-13.

Freshman Jenna Pasko (Lansing, Ill./T.F. South) led the way for the Peregrines recording her first career double-double, notching 13 kills and 18 digs to go along with a solid .312 attack percentage.

Sophomore Gabrielle Martin (Kankakee Valley, Ind./Kankakee Valley) added a double-double of her own with 11 kills and 12 digs while senior Akeelah Muhammad (Chicago Heights, Ill./Bloom Township) racked up 12 kills and seven blocks in the setback.

Senior libero Samantha Basar (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) recorded a game-high 22 digs and sophomore setter Carley Bartolini (Portage, Ind./Chesterton) notched a career-best 38 assists for Purdue Calumet, which also got four block assists from Pasko and three total blocks from sophomore middle Kayla Elsea (Palmyra, Ind./Crawford County).

Elsea added six kills and sophomore Carissa Jones (Whiting, Ind./Bishop Noll) had six kills for a Peregrines' offense that recorded 52 total kills in the marathon contest.

Katelyn Wienbarg led Reinhardt with 19 kills and Sam Croce had 37 assists in the victory.

In the day's final match, the team fell to Shawnee State, 23-25, 29-27, 19-25, and 22-25 in a tough 3-1 setback.

Martin led the way for the Peregrines against the Bears (5-3), recording a match-high 14 kills while Jones also notched double-digit kills with 11. Elsea and Pasko each chipped in with eight kills and five total blocks in the setback.

The Peregrines fell in the first set 25-23, but battled back in Set 2 to win a marathon 29-27 set battle of a second set to even things up at one set apiece.

Shawnee State used the stellar play of Lauren Helbig, who notched 13 kills in the match, to help them battle back and take the final two sets over the Peregrines.

The Black and Gold will return to action next Saturday, Sept. 5 as the squad heads to St. Mary of the Woods, Ind. to take on Brescia and St. Mary-of-the-Woods in a tri-match.

#25 Mount Vernon Nazarene Tops Purdue Calumet, 6-0
The Purdue University Calumet women’s soccer team fell behind early but put up a strong defensive stand in the second half in a 6-0 nonleague loss to visiting 25th-ranked Mount Vernon Nazarene University (Ohio) Saturday at Dowling Park.

The Cougars (2-1) struck in the first minute on a Casey Apple goal via a cross in from teammate Rachel Baker and never looked back after that, as Apple added another goal before the half along with goals from Baker, Lydia Simpson, and Jessica Harper to make the score 5-0 at the break.

The Peregrines (0-2) defense regrouped in the second period behind seven second-half saves from freshman goalkeeper Lucie Ashmore (Greystones, Ireland/St. Gerard’s School), who finished the match with nine stops. Purdue Calumet’s defense held the Cougars to just one score in that frame, as Morgan Gibson added the final goal in the 80th minute on a rebound off the post from a shot by Allison Paley.

MVNU outshot Purdue Calumet 26-6 and won the battle on corner kicks, 6-2.

The Peregrines return to action Tuesday, Sept. 1, when they host Marygrove College (Mich.) in a the first match of a doubleheader with the Purdue Calumet men’s team starting at 2 p.m. (CT) at Dowling Park. The men will take on Marian (Ind.) after the women’s match, at approximately 4 p.m.