MILWAUKEE, WIS. – Struggling to find their way to the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) tournament for the second consecutive year, the Concordia University Chicago men's volleyball team fell to the Milwaukee School of Engineering Raiders (MSOE) 3-0.


INSIDE THE BOX

• Marcin Hoffman (Inverness, Ill.) led the offense with 10 kills on the day while Jackson Stella (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) followed behind with nine.
• David Vales (Oak Forest, Ill.) picked up three blocks on the day while also picking up a team high seven digs.
• Elijah Mosher (Clayton, Ohio) picked up 21 assists for the Cougars.

SET ONE
The Cougars served first but the Raiders were able to score off the serve. A block from Leon Gudzovski (Park Ridge, Ill.) and Vales would even the score at one apiece before the Raiders would jump ahead off a service error, a kill, and a service ace. A kill form Gudzovski would break the Cougars' dry spell and bring the score to 11-7 in favor of the Raiders. Exchanging points for a handful of minutes, the Cougars would find their momentum late in the set as a kill from Vales would close the set in a 25-15 deficit.  


SET TWO
The Raiders picked up the first point of the set off a kill while the Cougars secured their first point off a Raiders' attack error. A 6-0 run in favor of the Raiders would catapult them ahead 7-1 before a Raiders' service error would score the Cougars' first point since the second point of the match. With the Raiders still raging on, a back-and-forth battle would ensue, bringing the Cougars within five. Kills from Gudzovski, Hoffmam, and Sean Beckman (Hoffman Estates, Ill would bring things within four before a series of three consecutive service errors would undo the good that had been done.
 
With the Raiders ahead of the Cougars heading into the final five points of the set, a kill from Stella would leave the Cougars trailing 22-20. Kills from Gudzovski and Stella would tie the set up at 23 apiece before a kill from the Raiders paired with a service error would even the score at 25. Two kills from the Raiders would score the final two set points and leave the Cougars trailing two sets to none.


SET THREE
With the Cougars once again serving first, the Raiders found their way on the scoreboard first with an opening point kill. Stella retaliated right away with a kill off the set from Van Gaetto (Darien, Ill.) before a 3-0 run from the Raiders put them ahead. Four of the first six points from the Cougars came at the hands of Stella before additional kills from Vales and Hoffman started to contribute. A service ace from Dionte Garcia (Aurora, Colo.) would look to jumpstart the Cougar offense, but the intense Raiders' hits would be too much for the Cougar squad to take. Two attack errors from the Raiders would be the last two points the Cougars would score and ultimately fall in set three 25-15.
 
The Cougars fall to the Raiders 3-0 and look to take on the Dominican University Stars on Wednesday, April 3^rd, at Dominican University with opening serve set for 7:00PM. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.