Feb. 15, 2019 - The Concordia University Chicago men's volleyball team began the first part of a back-to-back weekend tonight as they engaged Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon, WI. The first meeting ever between the old rivals in this sport showed the competitive fires that supporters of the two schools come to expect when the Cougars and Falcons get together in any sport. Unfortunately for CUC, a slow start was fatal to their chances this evening and, even though they played better as the night went on, the Falcons had enough to prevail in three sets (25-10, 26-24, 25-21).
In set one, an early 5-0 run gave the Falcons an 8-2 lead The Cougars hit for a negative attack percentage and were unable to mount a comeback, and a closing 8-2 run allowed CUW to cruise to an easy opening-set win.
The Cougars trailed 4-1 in set two before they hit the Falcons with a 4-0 run to take their first lead of the match.
Matthew Geiser fueled thee run with consecutive service aces. The hosts soon answered with a 6-1 run and looked to be in control en route to a 2-0 match lead. However, trailing 16-12, CUC unleashed a 5-0 run, featuring kills from
Ryan Felbinger and
Nick Capers. From that point, the teams battled back and forth until the set was tied 24-24. A CUW kill and an ace provided the final two points, and CUC was facing a steep climb back into the match.
In set three, Concordia-Chicago trailed 6-3 before
Anthony Galindo rallied them back, first teaming up with Capers on a block and then finishing a set-up from Geiser. Later in the set, CUC hit CUW with a 5-1 run, with an ace by Geiser giving the visitors an 11-10 lead. The remainder of the set was played close to the vest by both teams until the final minutes. With the score 20-20, the Falcons pushed ahead on three straight kills. Geiser stopped that run with the Cougars' final kill of the match before the Falcons scored the final two points to complete the sweep.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Nick Capers led CUC with eight kills and a .300 attack.
- Matthew Geiser led the Cougars with three aces and eight digs while finishing second in kills with seven.
- The Falcons had just two more hitting attempts than the Cougars but finished with a .325 attack percentage, compared to the Cougars' .077.
The Cougars (4-5, 0-3 NACC) will have a quick turnaround with an 11 a.m. match Saturday at the Illinois institute of Technology.
