RIVER FOREST, ILL. – For the first time in program history the Concordia University Chicago men's volleyball team will be playing in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) tournament as they take on the Milwaukee School of Engineering Raiders (MSOE) tonight at 7:00 pm.
HOW WE GOT HERE
- The Cougars kicked off NACC play with a 3-2 win over Lakeland on February 17th, setting the tone for the rest of the season. They fell to the Falcons of Concordia University Wisconsin a day later, but flipped the narrative for their home conference opener.
- On February 28th the Division Street Rival Dominican University traveled down the street to Geiseman Gymnasium where the Cougars secured their first program win against the Stars. The Stars, who were the number one team in the conference last season and previously made a run in the NCAA tournament, fell to the Cougars 3-0.
- The Cougars kept rolling through conference, securing more clean sweeps as they took down St. Norbert College, Rockford University, Wisconsin Lutheran College, and Edgewood College 3-0 each match.
- Despite falling in tough matches against Illinois Institute of Technology, Marian University, and MSOE the Cougars were able to hand the number one team in the conference, the Benedictine Eagles, their only conference loss of the season in a tremendous 3-1 win on March 29th.
- The Cougars slid their way into the conference tournament by picking up a fifth seed after going 14-12 on the season and 7-5 in NACC play. With a three-way tiebreaker with Dominican and Marian leaving the Cougars in limbo for a few days, the Cougars won the final tiebreaker after beating the number one seed in the tournament.
WHAT TO EXPECT
- The Cougars have seen an explosive offense this season with senior Luke Vozenilek (Westmont, Ill.) surpassing the 1,000 career kills mark after picking up 346 total kills this season. Vozenilek averages 4.58 points per set while swinging a .260 attack percentage.
- Tyler Holubek (New Lenox, Ill.) contributed to the offense as he officially secured the number one spot in the NACC record book for single-season kills, picking up 363 so far on the season. Holuek averages 4.22 points per set while swinging a .221 attack percentage.
- Freshman Elijah Mosher (Clayton, Ohio) made his presence known with the Cougar squad as he picked up a total of 893 total assists thus far on the season, averaging 8.75 assists per set. Mosher wrote his name in the Cougar record books already as he secured the number one spot for assists in a season, shattering the record by nearly 400 assists and securing the number two spot for career assists, only 204 assists away from breaking the record.
- Colby Campbell (Brookfield, Ill.) leads the defensive side of things for the Cougars as the senior middle blocker has picked up 18 solo blocks and 86 assisted blocks for 104 total blocks on the season, averaging 1.14 blocks per set.
- Blake Rosen (Aldie, Va.) also supported the defense as the junior libero has picked up 232 digs on the season for an average of 2.30 digs per set and a .933 reception percentage.
HISTORY WITH MSOE
- The Cougars are 0-5 overall against the Raiders, most recently picking up a 3-2 loss last week at home.
- In their most recent contest, the Cougars jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the Raiders led by Vozenilek and his 1,000th career kill while Campbell tied his career-high total blocks after picking up eight on the night.
The Cougars will look for their first program win against the Raiders and the first program win in the NACC tournament tonight as they travel up to Milwaukee, Wis. for a 7:00 pm first serve. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage while live updates can be found on Twitter @cuc_cougarmvb.
