Angola, Ind. — Following their first win of the season on Friday night, the Concordia University Chicago men's volleyball team was back in action early on Saturday afternoon at Trine University. Despite winning the second and third sets, the Cougars were unable to pull off a second straight win, falling 3-2 in a tightly contested battle.
Inside the Box Score
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Junior Luke Vozenilek (Westmont, Ill.) led the team by a wide margin with 20 kills and 23.5 points. He added four total blocks and eight digs.
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Fellow junior Tyler Holubek (New Lenox, Ill.) had four total blocks, seven digs, five kills, and a pair of service aces. He also led the team with 37 assists.
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Sophomore David Vales (Oak Forest, Ill.) was second on the team with eight kills and 11 points.
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Senior Virgilio Rodriguez (Cicero, Ill.) added 10.5 points thanks to six kills, five total blocks, and a service ace. He also led the team with 13 digs.
The Cougars played well out of the gate, racking up kills on their way to an 11-7 lead. A 4-0 Trine run evened things up before the teams traded blows over the next 10 points. Neither team held more than a one-point advantage until the Thunder went ahead 21-19 following a CUC timeout.
After the Cougars pulled back within one at 21-20, Trine responded by scoring the final four points of the set, taking it 25-20.
It was a different story in the second set, as the Cougars lead proved to be too much for the Thunder to overcome. CUC held a steady four-point lead throughout much of the middle of the match before a 12-7 lead forced a Trine timeout.
The timeout did little to slow the Cougars roll. Two kills from Vozenilek and a pair of service aces by Holubek gave the team a commanding 17-9 lead. The duo both added kills a couple points later before three Trine errors wrapped up a 25-17 Cougar victory, evening things at one set apiece.
Resiliency was the story of the third set. After jumping out to a 15-8 lead, the Cougars were forced to fight off a furious Thunder comeback. A 9-2 Trine run evened things at 17 before a kill by senior Erickberto Perez (Melrose Park, Ill.) sparked a 3-0 CUC run and put them back in the driver's seat.
Trine battled back once again, pulling within a point at 22-21 and forcing the Cougars to use a timeout. Two Thunder attack errors and a service error followed the timeout, and the Cougars held on for a 25-22 victory.
With victory within reach, the Cougars again controlled the tempo early on in the fourth set. They appeared to separate themselves when they took a 14-10 lead, but Trine pieced together a 7-0 run to grab control of the set.
Kills by Vozenilek and Perez kept the team in reach and provided a bit of momentum, but Trine continued to string together too many points for CUC to overcome, taking the fourth set by a score of 25-19.
It was the Cougars who were forced to fight from behind in the fifth set. Trine led by as much as five at 12-7, just three points away from winning the match. CUC responded with a 5-0 run, spearheaded by kills from Holubek and Vozenilek as well as a service ace from Rodriguez.
The comeback effort fell just short, however, as the Thunder took the deciding set by a final of 15-13.
They'll begin conference play this Friday when they welcome Concordia University Wisconsin to Geiseman Gymnasium for a 7 p.m. contest. Fans attending the match are encouraged to wear Hawaiian attire. Coverage for the night will be available on cucougars.com/coverage.
