MILWAUKEE, WIS. — With the regular season coming to a close in the next couple weeks, the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men's volleyball team looked to snag a win from Wisconsin Lutheran College (WLC). After some narrow wins, the Cougars were able to take down the Warriors 3-1.
Inside the Box Score:
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Marcin Hoffman (Inverness, Ill.) had the most kills on the night, as he logged 11
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Jackson Stella (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) picked up an impressive three service aces
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Stella and Elijah Mosher (Clayton, Ohio) both picked up three blocks on the night. Mosher also led in the assist category with 38
Set One
This NACC matchup started off with a 3-3 tie, with some mistakes made on both ends of the court. WLC would make their first lead, followed by a Sean Beckman (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) kill, to have it at 8-6 WLC. The Warriors kept a healthy lead, as they took advantage of some Cougar errors 10-8. However, CUC would not be put down easily, as they went on a six-point rally 14-10. This consisted of kills by both Stella and Hoffman.
Leon Gudzovski (Des Plaines, Ill.) joined his teammates by snagging a kill of his own before WLC started to chip away at the score 17-17. With the score tied, the momentum shifted back and forth between the two opponents. Mosher picked up a kill and Stella would shoot in a service ace to take the lead 20-17. Gudzovski was the main contributor up front as both teams rallied both together at 22-21 with CUC in front.
Heading into extra points, WLC was able to catch up to CUC and tie the game up 24-24. The Cougars tried to find a change of momentum, but the Warriors took the first set 26-24.
Set Two
The Cougars wanted to make a splash in this set and quickly took the lead 5-1. Dionte Garcia (Aurora, Colo.) caught some space for a service ace, along with kills from Hoffman, Stella, and Gudzovski. The Warriors tried to get something going, but the Cougars kept making opportunities out of their mistakes 10-4. Beckman slammed down a kill to make it 11-5 CUC.
Mosher would pick up another kill on the night, and CUC would continue to get the ball back due to WLC's miscommunications 20-14. Hoffman and Beckman both looked to take advantage of this, as the Warriors began chipping away at the Cougar lead 24-18. In a last ditch effort, WLC would try to turn the tide, but CUC would put this set away at 25-21.
Set Three
With the score evened out, the two opponents were battling back and forth for their points 3-3. Stella, and then back-to-back kills from David Vales (Oak Forest, Ill.), would help get something going for the Cougars 6-3. Vales and Hoffman stayed hot at the net, followed by a huge Hoffman-Gudzovski block 10-6.
The Cougars kept it rolling, with a kill and block from Stella to make it 13-8. Beckman and Stella then joined forces for a big block up front 15-10. During this time, WLC continued to try and find weaknesses in the CUC defense. Beckman would slam down another kill, and the Cougars made good on Warrior miscues 21-16.
With the end in sight, CUC trucked ahead, with a kill from Hoffman, then Gudzovski, then back-to-back from Stella. This gave the Cougars the win in set three 25-18.
Set Four
Looking to close out the game, the Cougars were caught off guard with the Warriors aggressive offense 6-4. They would quickly take the lead back over at 9-8, thanks to kills from Beckman, Vales, and Gudzovski. Hoffman would join in on the action, with Beckman and Mosher picking up a block, at 13-10.
Hoffman and Beckman stayed hot with more kills, and Stella snagged back-to-back service aces to take it to 17-12. Hoffman joined in on this, with another kill and a service ace, 20-16.
WLC would try to take the game over and force set five, but Beckman put in the killing blow 25-23. The Cougars would defeat the Warriors with a final score of 3-1.
The Cougars will be back next Tuesday, when they host the Illinois Institute of Technology at 7 p.m. Coverage for all of our sports can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
