MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- With the Concordia-Chicago Cougars taking on the Raiders of MSOE, who are receiving outside votes in the AVCA Division III poll, CUC battled its NACC opponent to four sets before ultimately falling 3-1.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Ryan Felbinger led the Cougars with nine kills on the night, while Skylar Versendaal and Virgilio Rodriguez each tallied five kills apiece.
- Trent Weber and Matthew Geiser both ran the offense, as each Cougar finished with 13 assists.
- CUC attacked .350 in the first set, proving it to be their most efficient set of the night. Overall, the Cougars finished with a .118 attack percentage.
MSOE jumped out to a steady 7-1 lead in the first set. With the Raiders swinging heavily, Geiser and Felbinger shut down MSOE's offense with a clutch block to stunt the home team's momentum.
CUC fought back and even tied things up with the Raiders, thanks to an ace from Versendaal to make the game nine-all. However, from there MSOE created space that the Cougars never seemed to overcome as they dropped set one 25-18.
In set two, the Cougars were the ones to jump onto an early lead, as Geiser led from the service line to give CUC a quick 4-1 lead. A couple of defensive miscues from the Cougars on serve receive gave the Raiders a chance to catch up and take a 15-8 lead midway through the set. Down seven, CUC dug a Raider attack and Weber was able to push the ball to Geiser on the outside to put the ball away.
Following Geiser's kill, Versendaal nailed another ace from the service line to make it 15-10. However, CUC would score just two more points over the remainder of the set and fall in the second, 25-12.
Concordia-Chicago was ready to work in set three, despite falling behind in the first two. The Cougars took a 7-3 lead, that Rodriguez helped stretch with a big solo block on the outside.
Midway through the set, CUC had established a 13-7 advantage that carried them through the remainder of the set to win it 25-21.
Despite the third set victory, the Cougars dropped set four 25-18 to the Raiders. Concordia-Chicago will return to the floor shortly as the team is scheduled to take on Trinity Christian and Saint Xavier at 11 and 1 p.m., respectively, today.
An updated box score for the CUC-MSOE will be available shortly at
cucougars.com.
