RIVER FOREST, ILL. --- In their final regular season game of the year, the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men's volleyball team took to the court to celebrate their lone senior.
David Vales (Oak Forest, Ill.) was honored prior to today's match for all of his hardwork and dedication to the Cougar men's volleyball program. In their last game in Geiseman, the Cougars were defeated by the Marian University Sabres 3-2.
Inside the Box Score:
- To cap off their freshmen campaigns, both Marcin Hoffman (Inverness, Ill.) and Jackson Stella (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) led the offense with 13 kills apiece
- Leon Gudzovski (Des Plaines, Ill.) dominated at the net with six blocks on the night
- Libero Van Gaetto picked up 18 digs on the night
Set One
The Cougars started off ahead with a Gudzovski ace and Hoffman kill 5-2. After some Sabre issues, both Vales and Stella would snag kills, making the lead 10-6. Joining in on the offensive action was
Sean Beckman (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) and Gudzovski, making the score 13-7.
A Stella-Gudzovski block brought more momentum for CUC, with the score at 20-10. With Stella and Gudzovski leading the way, the first set win was in sight. Marian tried to chip away, but CUC shut down set one with a score of 25-17.
Set Two
Looking to capitalize on this momentum, the Cougars took a quick 6-1 lead to start the second set. Vales would grab another kill, before a Beckman and
Elijah Mosher (Clayton, Ohio) block would make it 8-7 CUC. Marian would then take the lead after a rally of points 10-8.
The Sabres went on a five-point rally 16-12, before it was broken up by Gudzovski and Stella 16-15. Marian would then storm ahead to take set two 25-18.
Set Three
These teams would be locked to start three, tying it up at 5-5. Beckman aced and Vales would kill, but Marian would take the lead 10-8. Beckman, Hoffman, and Vales would continue to work, trailing 14-13.
Mosher picked up an ace and a big block up front would take the lead 17-16. But, Marian would take the tied back 20-18. Beckman slammed down another kill, with the Cougars now leading 24-22. Heading into extra points, Marian would end up taking the final point 27-25.
Set Four
Stella and Vales came out hot in set four, as they took a lead of 9-7. This continued with Gudzovski being added into the mix, making it 12-8. The Sabres would be caught on their toes with a couple of mistakes, the Hoffman would bring in another point 20-11.
Gudzovski, Stella, and Hoffman would all pick up one more kill a piece to take set four for CUC 25-15.
Set Five
Marian would take the lead in the tiebreaker round with a 5-3 score. Hoffman and Stella made the Sabres work for it, but they kept trekking ahead to 10-6. Unfortunately, the Cougars would get a bad draw and the Sabres won this fifth set 15-10. Marian would defeat CUC with a final score of 3-2.
This marks the end of the Cougar men's volleyball season, at 8-17 overall and 3-9 in conference play. Coverage for all of our sports can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
