CHICAGO, ILL. -- The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men's volleyball team traveled to the Southside to take on the Illinois Institute of Technology (Illinois Tech) Scarlet Hawks in a midweek Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) matchup as the team continues to fight for a spot in the playoffs.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Alexander Ford (Skokie, Ill.) had another career night picking up a career-best ten total blocks while adding in 11 kills and one service ace.
- Tyler Holubek (New Lenox, Ill.) led the offense with 16 kills while also adding in 15 digs and three assists.
- Elijah Mosher (Clayton, Ohio) picked up 46 assists on the night, bringing his season total to 828.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE
The Scarlet Hawks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but would quickly see things tied up after back-to-back points from the Cougars. Exchanging back-and-forth for the good majority of the set, it wouldn't be until the Scarlet Hawks would go on a 5-1 scoring run that would really push them ahead of CUC. Attempting to get back within a few points, a string of exchanged points would be led by kills from Holubke,
Leon Gudzovski (Des Plaines, Ill.), and
Jackson Stella (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) Ultimately, the string of consecutive points from the Scarlet Hawks would outweigh the back-and-forth exchange and leave CUC trailing after the first set.
SET TWO
Set two would see the Cougars strike first with Mosher serving, but a quick two points for the Scarlet Hawks would put them ahead. A 3-0 run for CUC with kills from Holubek and Stella would put them back on top. Exchanging back-and-forth the better half of the set, the Cougars would jump out to a three point lead late in the set after back-to-back kills off the hands of Ford paired with a solo block from
Marcin Hoffman (Inverness, Ill.). One pont from the Scarlet Hawks would break the CUC scoring run, but a quick 4-0 run right afterwards would put CUC up by six and officailly cross the 20 point mark. A late rally from Illinois Tech would bring them within one, but a kill from Holubek to close the set would level the game at one set apiece.
SET THREE
The Cougars would once again strike first with a kill from Gudzovski, but the Scarlet Hawks would retaliate and level the score at one. Bouncing back-and-forth, per the pace of the game so far, back-to-back kills from Holubek and Mosher would give CUC the first multi-point lead of the set. Despite CUC doubling Illinois Tech's score at one point, the Scarlet Hawks would get right back into things and make it a one point game with CUC on top 9-8. Things would knot up once again at 16 each before a kill from Stella would give CUC the short-lived lead back. A 3-0 run for the Scarlet Hawks would give them the lead late in the set, but a 3-0 run where it counted most for the Cougars would bring them to set point. A dagger of a kill from Stella would close the set with the CUC win.
SET FOUR
Keeping the trend of the last two sets, the Cougars would score first with a 2 point rally with a kill from Stella. The Scarlet Hawks would take the early 7-4 lead, but a 4-0 run from the Cougars would take it right back. The Scarlet Hawks would answer once again with a 4-0 run of their own before the two teams returned to exchanging points. CUC would take the lead midway through the set after points off the hands of Holubek and Stella would give them the 17-15 advantage. A final stretch of 3 consecutive points would put the Cougars ahead by four, leaving a cushion for the remainder of the set to be an exchange of points. The Cougars would close the set with the 25-21 victory off kills from Mosher and Holubek.
With the win, the Cougars slide into the sixth spot in the NACC rankings after head-to-head matchups resulted in wins over Illinois Tech and Wisconsin Lutheran. The Cougars continue late season NACC play as they travel north to take on Lakeland University on Saturday with a slated start time of 1:00pm. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
