River Forest, Ill. — Wednesday night marked the beginning of a new era for Concordia University Chicago Men's Volleyball as they welcomed North Central College to Geiseman Gymnasium for the season opener, the program's first match under new Head Coach Ron Katarzynski. The team showed a lot of fight throughout the night, but ended up falling 3-0.
Inside the Box Score
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Junior outside hitter Luke Vozenilek (Westmont, Ill.) led the team with nine kills and 12 points. He also had a pair of blocks as well as service aces.
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Senior middle blocker Erickberto Perez (Melrose Park, Ill.) had a team-high three blocks to go along with four kills.
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Fellow senior opposite Virgilio Rodriguez (Cicero, Ill.) filled out the stat sheet with six kills, 11 assists and three digs.
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Junior opposite Tyler Holubek (New Lenox, Ill.) posted a team-high 18 assists. He also had five kills and a block.
The season opened with a bang courtesy of a kill by Rodriguez, which registered the first point of 2022.
It was quite a competitive first set, with neither team taking anything more than a two-point lead until North Central pulled ahead 17-14. The lead didn't last, however, as the Cougars battled right back to tie things up at 17. They'd do so again twice more, and even took a 20-19 lead. This was the last lead they would hold though, as the Cardinals gained another three-point advantage, this time setting up the match point. The Cougars ultimately fell in the first set by a score of 25-21.
Explosive play from Vozenilek and Perez was a big reason the Cougars were in the opening set from start to finish. Vozenilek had three kills and a block, while Perez matched the three kills but registered three blocks.
The Cougars trailed for the majority of the second set, including facing a five-point deficit at 15-10. Not ready to roll over, they went on a 6-1 run to tie things at 16 on a service ace from Perez.
Once again down by five (21-16), the Cougars again began to chip away. With a chance to gain momentum in a 23-20 game, a service error put the ball back in the hands of the Cardinals with the match point in their sights. Much like the first set, North Central emerged victorious 25-21.
Vozenilek was huge for the Cougars through two sets, registering seven kills and a block on his way to 8.5 points. Perez followed with 5.5 points, and Holubek and sophomore outside hitter David Vales (Oak Forest, Ill.) were right behind with 4.5 apiece. Holubek posted four kills and led the team with five digs and 14 assists.
The Cougars jumped to a quick 2-0 lead in the third set, but this would be the only time they led. Though the team continued to fight until the very end, North Central never allowed it to get much closer than five or six points. The Cougars dropped the third set by a final of 25-17.
They'll hit the road this weekend for their first tournament of the season, the Illinois Wesleyan Invitational. They're set to take on Adrian College on Friday night at 7 p.m. before battling Lakeland University and Illinois Wesleyan the following day. Saturday's games are set to begin at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.
Coverage for all the weekend's action will be available on cucougars.com/coverage.
