Jan. 24, 2019 - The anticipation is now very close to becoming reality. Men's volleyball at Concordia University Chicago will officially begin intercollegiate play this weekend with the first four matches of its 26-match 2019 schedule. The men's volleyball program is the 19th sponsored sport at CUC and the first to start up since men's and women's lacrosse made their debuts three years ago.

All four matches this weekend will be played at Trine University in Angola, IN, and the Cougars will play all four in quick succession. The action begins at 6 p.m. (ET) Friday night when CUC raises the curtain against Thomas More University. The second match follows immediately at 8 p.m. with the University of Mount Union providing the opposition. Then, it will be a quick night's sleep before the Cougars are back on the floor at 9 a.m. Saturday against the host school. This opening weekend then comes to an end when CUC plays North Park University at 11 a.m. before heading back to River Forest. 

Despite their lack of game experience, the Cougars should not be at a disadvantage. Trine and Thomas More have had men's volleyball programs in earlier years but are just reintroducing the sport to their campuses this year, while Mount Union and North Park are, like CUC, making their maiden voyages this season.

Head coach Rhyen Staley and graduate assistant Jeriel Apelar have worked to prepare this team that will consist of nine freshmen, one sophomore and one junior. The team fared well in a recent preseason scrimmage, playing a competitive three sets against a more seasoned Carthage College team.

When asked what he expects from these first four matches, Staley replies, "We're just looking for continued growth and experience from these young guys. I think we've already seen some great growth the last few weeks, and what we're looking for now is the true competitive nature of what we've seen in the gym. These guys have done an excellent job of buying into the system and buying into what we're doing, and now we'll see if they can go out and demonstrate what they've learned."