River Forest, Ill. — The Concordia University Chicago men's volleyball team rolled to victory at Geiseman Gymnasium on Wednesday night, sweeping the Regents of Rockford University in three sets to bring their conference record back to .500 at 2-2. It was a total team effort, with major contributions from all up-and-down the Cougars' roster.
It was all Cougars in the first set. Junior Tyler Holubek (New Lenox Ill.) opened things with a kill, one of the 12 the team would record in the set. They jumped to a 7-2 lead after back-to-back kills from senior Virgilio Rodriguez (Chicago, Ill.) and sophomore David Vales (Oak Forest, Ill.), forcing a Regents timeout.
The lead continued to grow throughout the match, Rodriguez and junior Luke Vozenilek (Westmont, Ill.) delivered a pair of powerful kills to give the Cougars a 10-point advantage at 13-3.
Vozenilek stepped to the line to serve with a 17-6 advantage and proceeded to record three service aces in four serves, all but putting the game away at 21-6.
Rockford won three more rallies, but a kill from Rodriguez put an official end to the set, a 25-9 CUC victory. Rodriguez led all Cougars with four kills in the set. He also added five assists.
Set two was a little closer out of the gate, but the Cougars were never not in the driver's seat. They quickly got out to a 5-1 lead following a kill from junior Colby Campbell (Brookfield, Ill.) and a follow-up block from him and Vales.
Vales was excellent all set, delivering another kill for the Cougars' next point and adding a pair of service aces later on.
As Rockford hung around, the Cougars again looked to their aggressive play at the net to create some separation. Rodriguez and senior Erickberto Perez (Melrose Park, Ill.) teamed up for a block to give the team some breathing room at 11-5.
Rodriguez added an ace to make it 14-6, part of a 4-0 CUC run. The teams played fairly even from that point forward, but momentum grabbing plays like Campbell's kill to put the Cougars ahead 16-7 could not be matched by the Regents. Campbell led the way with two kills in the second set, as six Cougars recorded at least one.
Rockford's best stretch came when they grabbed three points in four rallies to pull as close as eight (20-12). Rodriguez had an answer for this, however, with his lone kill of the set to give CUC total control.
The set concluded a few rallies later on a kill from freshman Josh Rapley (Elgin, Ill.), as the Cougars took it 25-14.
It was much of the same in the third set. The Cougars led 3-1 almost immediately on three blocks. Rockford showed some fight early on, pulling as close as 6-5. This was answered by a 4-0 run from CUC, which forced a Regents timeout.
Back-to-back kills from Vozenilek made it 12-6, and he made it 15-7 just a few minutes later with yet another service ace. He had a team-high three kills in the final set.
The Cougars took their biggest lead of the set to that point on a block from Holubek that all but put things away at 19-8. Just for good measure though, freshman Kenney McCallum (O'Fallon, Ill.) added his first kill of the night three rallies later.
One of the highlights of the evening came in the final points, as junior Tavarus Davis-Williams recorded back-to-back kills in his team debut to set up match point. An attack error for Rockford followed, and the Cougars won 25-10.
Inside the Box Score
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The Cougars out-scored the Regents 75-33 over the three sets.
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Vozenilek and Rodriguez tied for a team-high six kills. 10 total Cougars recorded a kill on the night. Vozenilek's four service aces and 10 digs were also tops on the team.
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Rodriguez also tied for a team-high in assists with 12. This total was matched by Holubek.
It's back on the road this weekend as the Cougars have a pair of conference battles north of the border in Wisconsin beginning with St. Norbert College on Friday night. First serve in Friday's match is set for 7 p.m., and coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
