RIVER FOREST, Ill. – The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men's volleyball team took a break from conference action this afternoon to host the Panthers of Greenville University. The Cougars came out hot, defeating the Panthers in three sets. CUC is now 9-13, 3-5 Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NACC).
Before the match, the Cougars honored their seniors
Van Gaetto (Darien, Ill.) and
Sean Beckman (Hoffman Estates, Ill.), as well as their graduate assistant
Daniel Coates.
Inside the Box Score
- Tyler Holubek (New Lenox, Ill.) led the team with 11 kills, followed by Beckman with nine.
- Elijah Mosher (Clayton, Ohio) registered 36 assists.
- Gaetto had a strong showing all around today, leading the squad with 10 digs while also recording four assists.
Set One
The Cougars started off scoring the first three points, including a service ace from Mosher and a kill from Beckman. The Panthers took a point, but the Cougars quickly got the ball back and
Michael Cardines (Chicago, Ill.) registered CUC's second ace of the day.
Concordia continued to extend their lead with kills by
Leon Gudzovski (Des Plaines, Ill.),
Marcin Hoffman (Inverness, Ill.), and Holubek.
Now up 16-8, the Cougars would score two points for every Panther point, up to 22-11. Greenville went on a 5-0 run to close the gap, but kills from Beckman and Gudzovski, as well as a service ace by
Ayaaz Arif (Bolingbrook, Ill.), brought the Cougars to a 25-17 victory in set one.
Set Two
Beckman got things going in set two with a kill.
Greenville kept the set tight, trading points with Cougars. However, up 6-5, the Cougars went on a four-point run, starting off with another kill from Beckman and one from Gudzovski. The Panthers stopped the run, but the Cougars quickly picked up three more thanks to Holubek and Gudzovski.
CUC continued to strengthen its lead, up to 10 points, 18-8.
Tyrise Armstrong (Grayslake, Ill.) got in on the action, scoring the Cougars' next point. A kill by Beckman and a service ace by Mosher put the Cougars back up by ten, 22-12. The Cougars quickly closed out the set, winning 25-14, and taking a 2-0 lead.
Set Three
The Panthers scored the first point of the set, but the Cougars immediately took the lead, 6-2 with kills by Holubek and
Tristan Caminar (Bolingbrook, Ill.). CUC continued two increase their lead with a kill by Arif and back-to-back service aces from Holubek.
The teams traded points, but the Cougars maintained a steady 13-8 lead. A few errors from Greenville and kills from Holubek and Gudzovski allowed the gap to increase to 18-9. The Panthers would go on a 4-1 run to close the gap, but CUC answered back with a 4-0 run of its own. Caminar spiked the ball down for a kill and the hit a service ace, followed by a block by Mosher and Arif, and a kill from
Tate Johnson (Plainfield, Ill.).
The Panthers would claw back, but two kills from Beckman sealed the set for the Cougars, 25-17, and the sweep, 3-0.
The Cougars' next match will be Tuesday March 25 at 7:00 pm. CUC hits the road to resume NACC play, facing Illinois Institute of Technology. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
