The first season under head coach Brittany Sisk for the Dominican University women's volleyball team came to an end on Thursday night with a three-set (25-20, 25-20, 25-17) loss to the top-seeded Concordia University Wisconsin Falcons in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Tournament semifinals.
 
"CUW is just a solid volleyball team," commented Sisk following the match. "They play good disciplined volleyball every point.  We did a good job of playing that same type of volleyball tonight but just could not close the gap."
 
The Stars matched the Falcons early intensity, building an 11-7 lead in the first set before the regular season conference champs found their groove.  The Falcons scored nine of the next seven points to pull in front 16-13 and never trailed the rest of the opening set.
 
Freshman setter Anastasia Labadessa and Elin Ream knocked down three kills apiece in the frame before an injury sidelined Ream with the Stars in front 13-12.  The lead was the final lead for the Stars of the night.
 
Freshman Gillian Jones paced the Stars for the second consecutive match, knocking down nine kills while hitting .280 on 25 swings.  Kendyl Todd added five kills in her final match in a Stars' uniform.  The senior finishes her collegiate career with 1,129 kills—the eighth player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-kill plateau.
 
"We found the success we did this season in large part because of Kendyl and Alex Kisten," said Sisk. "They went into their senior year with a new coaching staff and almost entirely new team, and handled it with grace. They both led by example, and by doing that, left the Dominican volleyball program a much better place than it was when they found it."
 
The Stars finish the season 17-13, climbing back above .500 after going 12-21 last season.
 
"Every individual in our program should be proud of the year we had," continued Sisk. "This young group surprised a lot of people with what we were able to accomplish and should now be motivated to work even harder for the future."