Aurora, Ill.- Concordia University Chicago (4-19; 0-14 NACC) traveled to Aurora University (11-12; 9-6 NACC) to face off against the Spartans, and Augustana College. In the first match, CUC found themselves swept in straight sets by AU (7-25, 17-25, 14-25).
Inside the Box Score:
• Attack errors (30) kept the Cougars from keeping it close through the duration of the game.
• The Cougars lacked in aces as well (2), a statistic they usually thrive in.
•
Nick Capers lead in kills (6), followed by
Ryan Felbinger (4),
Brian Perez (3) and
Skylar Versendaal (3).
In the first set, the Cougars slowly fell behind and could not catch a complete grip on the game. They trailed early at 8-3 and then after a 7-0 run by Aurora they dug a hole they would not get out of. CUC would not reach ten in the opening set, and fall 25-7.
Moving forward, Concordia-Chicago looked for revenge. The Cougars came out swinging and found their pulse. Instead of falling behind by 12 early, CUC stayed within striking distance after a Perez spike made it 11-10. From there the Spartans nickeled and dimed their way to another victory. Concordia-Chicago improved their point total by ten but lost set two by a score of 25-17.
Set three was due or die for the Cougars. With their back against the wall, they swung hard and stayed tough. Anchored by a Versendaal kill, they only trailed 10-7 a little less than halfway through the set. Unfortunately, AU turned up the heat and went on a 4-0 run resulting in a CUC timeout. After the timeout, Aurora went on another long run to break free of the Cougars and win the set. Despite being behind, Concordia-Chicago stayed fighting until the end. Final score of set three was 25-14
Concordia-Chicago will look ahead to game two of the day against Augustana College. Game time is set for 2:00 p.m.
