ADRIAN, MICH. — This afternoon, the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men's volleyball team participated in the Adrian Tri. They would split on the day, defeating Maranatha Baptist 3-0 and losing to Adrian College 3-0. For these Cougars, many would pass momentous numbers on the day.
Game One vs Maranatha Baptist: 3-0 W
Inside the Box Score:
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Elijah Mosher (Clayton, Ohio) officially became the number one career all-time leader in assists after his 27 assists. He surpasses the previous record of 1,097 assists
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Marcin Hoffman (Inverness, Ill.) led the offense with 12 kills and 12 digs
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Two Cougars had career-highs, Leon Gudzovski (Des Plaines, Ill.) with five blocks and Timothy Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.) with 18 digs
Set One
The Cougars made quick work in all three of these sets, as Johnson and Hoffman started the offense off with a lead of 5-3. Ayaaz Arif (Bolingbrook, Ill.) joined in on the action to pull CUC ahead 8-4. As MBU tried to claw back, David Vales (Oak Forest, Ill.) would smack down a kill, followed by quick action from Hoffman and Johnson 14-9.
As the Cougars continued to dominate at the net, Mosher would pick up a kill and a Arif-Mosher block would drag the lead to 18-11. MBU would make some mistakes on their side of the net, further propelling CUC forward in the score 22-13. The first set would be capped off with a Gudzovski block to win it out 25-14.
Set Two
Johnson would be the first Cougar to strike in set two, and a block from Hoffman and Gudzovski 3-1. MBU would be able to tie the game up at 4-4, but CUC would quickly string together some points to pull ahead. This was thanks to a Johnson service ace and Hoffman kill 8-4. The front row was then dominated by the likes of Vales, Gudzovski, and Arif to make it 12-7.
CUC would go on a huge run of points with kills from Gudzovski and Vales, including two service aces from Mosher 17-7. Johnson and Gudzovski continued to be forces at the net, bringing the Cougar lead to 21-9. This set was finished by Arif and Mosher picking up kills 25-11.
Set Three
The kills came flying out in the final set of this match from Johnson and Hoffman 4-1. Hoffman and Jackson Stella (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) then snagged back-to-back kills at 8-4. A huge run of points would put a big block between the two opponents, courtesy of kills from Vales and Gudzovski, as well as a Mosher service ace 14-6.
With the win in sight, the Cougars continued to barrel forward. Gudzovski had back-to-back service aces, along with Hoffman and Arif kills to make the score 21-9. MBU would try to stage a comeback, but CUC would finish it off with kills from Stella and Vales 25-16. The Cougars would take their first game of the day with a final score victory of 3-0.
Game Two vs Adrian: 3-0 L
Inside the Box Score:
Set One
This game would start off as a back-and-forth brawl, as the Cougars got some points from the Bulldogs miscues. CUC would grab two blocks, from Gudzovski and Stella, then Arif and Hoffman to take the lead 6-3. The Cougars stormed ahead off of a Stella service ace, making the score 9-6. Vales would find some room to slam down a kill at 10-7.
Stella and Gudzovski grabbed some kills as well to stay ahead of Adrian 16-12. Hoffman jumped in on this action, but the Bulldogs began to find space on the court and chipping away at the lead. Vales snagged a kill and a block with Gudzovski to keep the lead 20-18. It would not be until the end of the set that Adrian would jump ahead and take set one 25-23.
Set Two
Even with a Stella kill in the midst, Adrian would hold onto their momentum in set two, making their lead 12-3. The Cougars were able to get the ball back on some Bulldog mistakes and Vales picked up a kill at 15-6. Later in the set, Stella and Gudzovski grabbed kills and a block to start to dismantle the Adrian lead 17-12.
Hoffman added a kill of his own and a block with Mosher to cut the Bulldog lead to 20-17. With the Cougars inching closer, the Bulldogs continued to keep a steady flow of points going at 23-19. Gudzovski would try to get a rally going late in the set, but Adrian would pull away with set two 25-20.
Set Three
It would be the block game to start the Cougars off in set three, with Stella and Guszovski, the game tied up at 4-4. Hoffman would grab some more kills, but Adrian would be ahead at 7-6. Adrian would continue the lead, but CUC would stay in the game due to the Bulldog mistakes 14-11.
Van Gaetto (Darien, Ill.) would get his first kill of the match, with the Bulldogs still leading 19-13. Vales smacked down a kill, then a handful of Adrian mistakes cut the lead to 20-17. Stella grabbed two more kills for himself, but the Bulldogs would run away with set three 25-22. The Cougars would fall in this match 3-0 to the Bulldogs.
The Cougars will be back at home on Tuesday to open up conference play against Rockford University at 7 p.m. Cougar fans, make sure to come out decked out for Luau Night! Coverage for all of our sports can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
