RIVER FOREST, Ill. – The nationally ranked #10 Aurora University Spartans came to Geiseman Gymnasium this evening, as the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men's volleyball team competed on its home turf. The Spartans took the game 3-0, and the Cougars fall to 6-13, 1-5 NACC.
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Inside the Box Score
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Set One
The Spartans started off with an early 5-1 lead, but the Cougars clawed their way back.
Tate Johnson (Plainfield, Ill.) registered the CUC's first kill of the evening, followed by a service ace from
Leon Gudzovski (Des Plaines, Ill.).
The Cougars would go on a 6-2 run, including kills from Holubek and Johnson, an ace from Johnson, and a block from
Tyrise Armstrong (Grayslake, Ill.) and
Alexander Ford (Skokie, Ill.) to take a 9-7 lead.
The teams battled back-and-forth, trading points, tying the set five times, ending at 16-16. The Spartans secured another kill and an ace to go up 18-16, causing the Cougars to take a timeout. Despite getting the point immediately out of the short break, the Cougars called another timeout with the Spartans leading, 21-18. Concordia continued to fight, with Holubek making a strong spike down to make it 24-20.
Unfortunately for the Cougars, they were limited to just one more point and fell in set one, 25-21.
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Set Two
Aurora came out hot in set two, taking an 8-3 lead, forcing a timeout from the Cougars. Ford tipped over CUC's first kill of the set, brushing it off the fingertips of the Spartans' defense, out of the break.
The Cougars remained limited in the set, falling 14-5, before calling another timeout. After the Spartans scored a point, the Cougars sided out and Holubek registered another kill for CUC. Yet the Spartans kept their foot on the gas and took the set 25-8, leading the match 2-0.
Set Three
The third set started stronger for Concordia, keeping the match close. Gudzovski spiked down the Cougars' first point to make it 2-1, in favor of the Spartans before the teams tied the set at 5-5.
Aurora managed to pull ahead 10-6 and force a timeout from Concordia. The Spartans took the initial point out of the break but got the ball back and Ford laid down a spike.
The Cougars never gave up as the Spartans' lead continued to grow. Holubek and Armstrong each secured another kill apiece, while
Sean Beckman (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) nabbed his first kill of the season.
Unfortunately, the Spartans' offense was too much to overcome, and the Cougars fell 25-18 in the third set, losing the match 3-0.
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The Cougars' next match will be Saturday March 15 at 1:00 pm. CUC hosts St. Norbert College for another NACC matchup. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
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