CHICAGO, ILL. — Traveling just down the road, the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men's volleyball team took to another Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) matchup. Challenging the Scarlet Hawks of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), they fell in this matchup with a score of 3-1.
Inside the Box Score:
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Leading the offense tonight was Tyler Holubek (New Lenox, Ill.) with 19 kills and Luke Vozenilek (Westmont, Ill.) followed right behind with 14
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Elijah Mosher (Clayton, Ohio) continues his impressive assist totals with 37
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Vozenilek and Jose Padron (Rockford, Ill.) led the way defensively with eight digs apiece
The Scarlet Hawks came into this game with a mountain of energy. Both teams would battle back and forth until IIT went on a seven-point rally. At that point, Holubek and Andrej Moller (Naperville, Ill.) would find opportunities to start chipping away at the lead. Back by six points, Holubek had a kill and a block to bring the Cougars closer to stealing the lead. They found their stride later in the set as Moller grabbed a smoking kill. Losing the ability to grab the lead, the Cougars lost set one 25-18.
Moving into set two, it was clear the Scarlet Hawks were playing off of past momentum. This quickly got them ahead with a score of 7-4. However, the Cougars were finally able to steal the lead with a score of 9-8. This began a strict battle between the two NACC opponents until IIT pulled away 18-13. Holubek, Vozenilek, and Moller were able to band together to bring the Cougars within three. But falling in set two, the Cougars could not get ahead with a score of 25-22.
With their backs against the wall, the Cougars came out for vengeance in set three. Mosher joined in on all of the action and found a way in to score for himself. Courtesy of a Vozenilek ace, the Cougars were able to take their largest lead of the game at 11-4. Padron found some space for himself and Vozenilek had back-to-back kills to pull away even further to 17-9. The Scarlet Hawks would start chipping away at the lead, but Holubek put the final nail in for the win in set three 25-19.
Set four was a do or die moment for the Cougars to stay alive in this match. An opening Colby Campbell (Brookfield, Ill.) ace and a couple of Scarlet Hawk errors would bring the Cougars ahead 3-1. The Scarlet Hawks strung together a couple of points, but the Cougars immediately responded. Thanks to a Vozenilek kill and ace, the Cougars led over the Scarlet Hawks 9-8. However, the Scarlet Hawks would take the lead and it would stay that way for the rest of the game. Despite the Cougars constant bite back, they fell in set four 25-23. This resulted in a final score of 3-1, with the win going to IIT.
The Cougars will be on the road for more NACC action on Saturday. They travel to Rockford College where they are scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. start. Coverage for all of our sports can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
