April 5, 2019 - In their final home weekend of the season, which included an evening dedicated to raising awareness for domestic violence, the Cougars took on the 12th-ranked Milwaukee School of Engineering Raiders. The Cougars put together a great effort and made some top plays, but it was not enough to upset the powerful Raiders, as the visitors prevailed 25-15, 25-21 and 25-17.
The Cougars started the first set with kills from
Brian Perez and a service ace from
Matthew Geiser that kept CUC within reach. After a timeout from CUC, they were able to bring the score within three at 15-12. However, shortly afterwards, MSOE would go on a 10-3 run to win the first set.
Skylar Versendaal had a kill and a block in back-to-back plays to kick off the second set. Later, after a long rally, CUC had the momentum to go on a 3-0 run behind two kills by
Virgilio Rodroguez. But the Raiders turned things around, taking advantage of a few attack errors by the Cougars, and they gained a 15-11 advantage. The Raiders looked to put an end to the second set early, but the Cougars were able to put together an 8-4 run to push the score to MSOE 24, CUC 21. However, MSOE got the final kill to extend their match lead to 2-0.
In the third set, the Cougars showcased strong defensive play with digs by Versendaal, hoping to offset some service errors. Following a strong combined block from
Ryan Felbinger, Versendaal and Geiser, CUC was within a point at 11-10. The Cougars stayed close, helped out by a single point in which the Cougars made two excellent saves to keep the play going, but they could not overtake the Raiders, and MSOE closed out set three with the 25-17 win.
The Cougars play their final match of the season on Saturday, April 6 at 1 p.m. versus Dominican University.