Springfield, Ohio - The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) Cougars men's volleyball team had a quick turn around as they had just over 12 hours to rest and rejuvenate for day two of the Wittenberg Kickoff Classic. The Cougars had two games on the day competing against the Wittenberg University Tigers and the Roanoke College Maroons where they went 0-2 on the day.
Game One - Wittenberg University
Inside the Box Score
- Alexander Ford (Skokie, Ill.) and Marcin Hoffman (Inverness, Ill.) had five and four kills to lead the Cougar offense.
- Elijah Mosher (Clayton, Ohio) contributed on the offensive and defensive end with 14 assists and eight digs.
Here's What Happened
Set One
The Tigers struck first, but the Cougars swiftly clawed back, fueled by kills from Hoffman and Ford, to edge ahead 5-4. The Cougars then dominated the next sequence, winning five of the next eight points, with a Ford ace and a Tristan Caminar (Bolingbrook, Ill.) kill propelling them to a 10-7 lead, forcing the Tigers into a timeout.
From there, the Cougars were able to increase their lead to as much as four, but the Tigers quickly reacted, bringing themselves back to a tie game, where the score sat at 19 a piece. An exchange of points followed by two consecutive kills from Ford brought the Cougars comfortably ahead by two, where the score was 23-21.
Nearing the end of the first set, a service error by the Cougars was enough for the Cougars to call a timeout. Now ahead by just one point, the score was 23-22. Out of timeout, the Tigers scored on back-to-back rallies, pulling themselves into the lead and just one point away from taking the first set where the score was 24-23, Tigers. Unfortunately, the Tigers remained in command of the court and won the next rally and took set one with a final score of 25-23.
Set Two
The Cougars capitalized on early Tiger errors to establish a 2-0 lead. However, the Tigers battled back, evening the score at 4-all. A powerful swing from Hoffman reasserted Cougar dominance, giving them a 5-4 advantage.
The momentum shifted dramatically as the Tigers claimed five of the next seven points, seizing a 10-7 lead and forcing a Cougar timeout. The Tigers continued to capitalize on Cougar errors, extending their lead to 13-8, prompting another Cougar timeout.
The Tigers' dominance continued, with their lead peaking at ten points. Tyrise Armstrong (Grayslake, Ill.) finally broke the streak with a thunderous kill, but the Tigers remained firmly in control. Caminar delivered the final kill for the Cougars, but it wasn't enough for the Cougars. The Tigers secured the set 25-14, taking a commanding 2-0 lead heading into the third set.
Set Three
The third set began with a fierce back-and-forth battle between the two teams. The Tigers gained an early edge, stringing together three consecutive points to take a 3-0 lead. The Cougars fought back, with kills from Armstrong and Jackson Stella (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) keeping the gap at three but putting the Cougars on the board where the score was 8-5. The next four points for the Cougars were thanks to kills from Ford and a Michael Cardines ace, but the Cougars remained behind with the score at 13-9.
However, a series of strong plays by the Tigers maintained their advantage. Though Cardines contributed another ace, the Cougars struggled to regain momentum. Despite their efforts, the Tigers ultimately prevailed in the third set, claiming victory 25-17 and securing a 3-0 sweep in the match.
The Cougars took a quick 45-minute break before heading into their second game of the day against the Roanoke College Maroons.
Game Two - Roanoke College
Inside the Box Score
- Hoffman contributed 11 kills and 7 digs in the game.
- Mosher obtained 32 assists and 11 digs.
- Tate Johnson (Plainfield, Ill.) had a commanding game with nine kills.
Here's What Happened
Set One
The Cougars roared out to an early 6-0 advantage, fueled by powerful kills from Hoffman.
The Maroons briefly rallied, narrowing the gap to a single point. However, kills from Johnson and Hoffman restored the Cougars' two-point cushion at 11-9. A back-and-forth exchange followed, resulting in a Maroons surge that briefly gave them the lead at 16-15, prompting the Cougars' first timeout. Out of timeout, the Cougars regained control. A kill from Hoffman and a series of blocks, including a solo effort by Gudzovski, ignited a fiery comeback giving the Cougars a 19-17 lead and forcing a Maroon timeout. The intensity remained high, with both teams exchanging leads until the end. In a thrilling finish, the first set extended into extra points before the Maroons ultimately prevailed 26-24.
Set Two
The start of set two was almost the opposite of set one, with the Maroons seizing an early 6-2 lead. However, a kill from Caminar, followed by a block from the dynamic duo of Gudzovski and Johnson, ignited a Cougar comeback, narrowing the gap to 6-4. The small flame turned into a fire for the Cougars where Ford contributed two kills, Johnson one kill, and Gudzovski and Caminar a block, they were able to tie the game up at 12 points. These were the last points scored for the Cougars before they were forced into a timeout due to the Maroons 3-point scoring run. Kills from Hoffman and Caminar brought the Cougars back where they wanted to be, tying the score back up, this time at 16 a piece.
The teams continued a bit of back-and-forth play essentially keeping the score all tied up. Hoping to find a different game plan, the Cougars looked for a timeout. Out of timeout, Mosher had two kills, as well as a kill from Johnson pulled the Cougars into the lead where the score was 23-21. This run of kills forced the Maroons to take a timeout but it served little purpose, as out of timeout the Maroons only scored once more. The Cougars took set two with a final score of 25-22. Each team sat at winning one set a piece.
Set Three
The Cougars were off to a rough start in set three, of the first 10 points, seven were the Maroons. With that, the Cougars took a timeout with the score at 7-3, favoring the Maroons. Cougars Johnson and Caminar did what they could to put the ball on the floor of the other end of the court, but their efforts were not enough to pull the Cougars ahead.
The Cougars still trailed with the score at 12-7. Johnson and Ford for the Cougars continued to get kills but their kills were answered by the Maroons and then some. The point deficit increased, and with the score at 18-11, the Cougars called a timeout. For the Cougars, Johnson was doing everything he could to take over by scoring the next three kills, but the Cougars were struggling to catch up, making the score 21-14, Maroons. The Cougars were only able to score twice more, where the final score of the set was 25-16. The Maroons pull ahead, going 2-1.
Set Four
The Maroons started out how they had finished the last set, hot, where they went 4-1, until Stella put himself back in the mix with a kill. The Stella kill was the second point for the Cougars in set four, making the score 4-2, favoring the Maroons. After a 4-1 run by the Maroons, the Cougars took their first timeout of the set. Out of timeout, the Maroons went 5-0, making the score 13-3 and forcing the Cougars to take another timeout just minutes after their first. Out of the second timeout, Armstrong was able to connect on a kill for the Cougars, but trailing by nine would be no easy comeback for the Cougars.
In the next 11 points, the Maroons went 7-4 over the Cougars. Of the Cougars four points, kills from Hoffman and Armstrong, as well as a block from Ayaaz Arif (Bolingbrook, Ill.) can be highlighted. With the score at 21-12 favoring the Maroons, the Cougars went on a 5-0 run, highlighting a Stella service ace and kill and Ford kill. Bringing the Cougars within five, the score was 21-17. However, the Cougars could not comeback from the deficit set by the Maroons, and they fell in the fourth set with a final score of 25-19. The Maroons went 3-1 in the match.
What's Next
The Cougars will have six days until they host their season-opening, Concordia Chicago Tri, on Friday, January 17th, where they will be competing against North Park University and Westminster College. Start times for the games are 12:00 pm, 5:00 pm, and 7:00 pm, respectively. Coverage for all things CUC men's volleyball can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
