PLYMOUTH, Wis. – After a hard fought loss to Marian last night, the Concordia University Chicago Men's Volleyball team was back in action today with two more matches. The first was a NACC match against Lakeland University. CUC struggled to stay consistent offensively as they fell in three sets 25-17, 25-17, 25-23. The Cougars tried to battle in the second match of the day but ultimately fell in three sets to Loras by scores of 25-22, 25-18, 25-10.
Match One vs. Lakeland
In the opening set CUC got things going early with kills by
Brian Perez and
Ryan Felbinger to open a 4-2 lead. Lakeland answered with a 6-1 run to reclaim the lead at 8-5. CUC worked to fight back, getting back within one point on two occasions, but were unable to comeback as the Muskies took the opening set 25-17.
CUC came out strong with a 4-0 run to begin set two. A
Matthew Geiser and Felbinger block helped to power the run. The Cougars continued to build on their lead, making it 7-1 with kills by Geiser,
Nick Capers and
Brian Perez. Lakeland was slowly able to battle their way back to tie the set at 13. The Muskies then used a 9-2 closing run to take set two 25-17.
In set three the Cougars used a 6-1 run to battle back and take an early 8-6 lead.
Anthony Galindo, Capers and
Virgilio Rodriguez helped to power the run. The two sides continued to exchange points into the mid part of the set. CUC was able to build up their lead to 16-11 on a Capers kill to force a Lakeland timeout. CUC continued to work the lead to 22-17. Lakeland responded in a big way though with an 8-1 one to compete the sweep with a 25-23 set three win.
Match Two vs. Loras
In set one the Duhawks gained a 10-5 lead through the early part of the set. Loras was able to continue to build their lead out to 17-10 in the set. CUC tried to battle back late with an 8-3 run that was powered with kills from Galindo and Geiser. Loras was able to withstand the CUC run though to take the set 25-22.
Set two was much like the first. Loras was able to build an early 10-4 advantage over CUC. The Cougars tried to fight back in the set, pulling within two on a Felbinger kill, but once again could not get the comeback going, falling 25-18 in set two.
In set three, CUC gained a 6-5 lead early on. Loras answered with an 11-1 to reclaim the lead. The Cougars were unable to recover, as the Duhawks took set three 25-10.
The Cougars will return to action on Tuesday night when they head to nationally ranked North Central College for a non-conference match. Opening serve is set for 7:30pm.
