RIVER FOREST, Ill. – The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men's volleyball team hosted the Concordia Chicago Tri today, facing North Park University and Westminster (MO). In match one, CUC started strong, but dropped the match to North Park, 3-1. The Cougars then picked up their first win of the season, sweeping Westminster 3-0. Concordia is now 1-4, 0-0 NACC.
Match One – North Park University
Inside the Box Score
Set One
CUC got off to an early 4-1 lead with kills from Hoffman and Stella, along with mishaps from North Park. The Vikings would try to close the gap, Stella spurred a 7-1 run for the Cougars, leading 11-4. Hoffman, Stella, and
Alexander Ford (Skokie, Ill.) continued to score points for the Cougars, building to an 18-9 lead. North Park would go on two 3-0 runs to get within four, 20-16, but two kills from Hoffman and one from Mosher gave the Cougars the set, 25-17. CUC led the match 1-0.
Set Two
The teams traded points to begin the second set. The Cougars had a slight 9-8 lead when Stella got back-to-back kills followed by two kills from
Tyrise Armstrong (Grayslake, Ill.), thus extending the lead to 13-9. Unfortunately, the Vikings would go on a 7-0 run to take the lead, 16-13. CUC would take the next two points, but the Vikings went on another run to go up 21-16. A few errors from North Park allowed the Cougars to sneak back up within two, 23-21. Yet the Vikings finished out the set on top, 25-22. The match was now tied, 1-1.
Set Three
The third set was a back-and-forth battle. Stella got the Cougars started with a kill before the teams started trading points. Down two, Stella and
Tate Johnson (Plainfield, Ill.) recorded back-to-back kills to tie the score at seven all. North Park would climb out to a 14-9, but CUC would score the next three points. Hoffman and Stella brought the Cougars within one, 16-15. North Park would take a two-point lead, but Stella reclaimed the lead in strong fashion, 19-18. However, North Park took the next four points and found the set win, 25-21. North Park now led the match 2-1.
Set Four
Johnson kicked things off in the fourth set with a kill, assisted by Gaetto. The teams would battle, trading points. The Vikings had two service aces before an error, and the following play,
Ayaaz Arif (Bolingbrook, Ill.) recorded the kill to tie the game at 8-8. Both teams took slight leads, but neither could pull away. Kills from Hoffman and Ford, along with a service ace from
Leon Gudzovski (Des Plaines, Ill.) put the teams deadlocked at 17-17. Unfortunately, the Vikings would find a way to pull ahead and took the set, 25-22. North Park won the match, 3-1.
Match Two – Westminster College (MO)
Inside the Box Score
- Stella led the Cougars with 16 kills.
- Mosher tallied four aces and 29 assists.
- Gudzovski stood strong at the net with 11 blocks.
Set 1
Stella and Johnson smashed back-to-back kills to start off the second match. Stella added another while Gudzovski also got in on the action to take a 7-4 lead.
While the Blue Jays would try to tie up the game, the Cougars were able to maintain their lead thanks to Hoffman, Stella, Gudzovski, and Mosher, keeping a three-point lead, 14-11.
The teams traded points to the end, but a few unanswered CUC points helped the Cougars to a 25-19 victory, leading the match 1-0.
Set Two
With a kill by Stella and two Cougar blocks, Concordia Chicago got off to a quick 3-0 lead.
However, the Blue Jays would get back into the game, going on a 6-1 run. CUC battled back to reclaim an 11-10, with a kill from Gudzovski and back-to-back service aces from Mosher. Concordia tried to pull away, but Westminster was able to tie the set at 15-15. CUC took the next three points before going back-and-forth again with the Blue Jays. A strong kill from Hoffman spurred the Cougars on for the final few points to take the game 25-21. CUC was now winning the match, 2-0.
Set Three
It was Stella once again who got the opening kill for the Cougars. Then, he and Gudzovski made a block for the lead. Stella tallied three more kills and Hoffman added two to take an 8-6 lead.
The Cougars then outscored the Blue Jays 7-4, which consisted of a service ace from Mosher, kills from Johnson and Hoffman. Johnson also recorded a block with Gudzovski.
With a 15-10 lead, the Cougars answered every point from the Blue Jays to keep the lead. Stella put the final stamp on the match, scoring match point, 25-19. CUC won the match 3-0.
The Cougars' next match will be Friday January 24. CUC will be in Olivet, Mich. to play the University of Olivet. First serve is at 5:30 pm EST. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
