MILWAUKEE, WIS. – The Concordia University Chicago men's volleyball team traveled north to take on the Milwaukee School of Engineering in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) quarterfinals. This is the second NACC Tournament appearance in program history, both coming under the direction of Head Coach Greg Manos. Despite three sets going into extra points, the Cougars would fall 3-1 and round out their 2025 season.
 
INSIDE THE BOX

• Tyler Holubek (New Lenox, Ill.) led the charge with 21 kills, 14 digs, and one service ace on the night.
• Elijah Mosher (Clayton, Ohio) picked up 36 assists and one service ace on the night.
• Jackson Stella (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) picked up a team-high two service aces and seven total kills.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE
The Raiders had the first serve, but a huge swing from Holubek would let the Cougars score first. After an errant serve gave the Raiders a point, the Cougars would answer right back with a swing from Marcin Hoffman (Inverness, Ill.). The Raiders would answer right back and the Cougars would find themselves in a point-for-point battle. The Raiders would jump out to a five point lead and force a Cougar timeout, but the Cougars would come back out hot. A service ace from Mosher would put some gas back in the tank and get things rolling once again. With the Raiders keeping a slight advantage over the Cougars, CUC would once again be forced to take a timeout to regroup. After MSOE crossed the 20 point mark first, the Cougars were in fight or flight mode and would start their battle back. Despite a 3-0 run capitalized by back-to-back kills from Holubek and one from Leon Gudzovski (Des Plaines, Ill.) the Cougars would fall in set one 15-20.
   

SET TWO
The Cougars started the second set with possession and would capitalize on it and put the first point on the board for the second consecutive set. The Raiders would once again answer right back and go on a 4-0 run to take the 4-1 lead. A burst from the Cougars would steal the lead right back and put them ahead 8-6.
 
 
The Raiders would work their way back in and retake the lead 10-9. The Cougars would try to battle back with points from Holubek and Stella, but wouldn't regain the lead until 15-14. The Cougars would take five consecutive points and force a timeout from the Raiders, but they would extend out to a 19-15 lead.
 
 
With the Cougars once again on top, the Raiders would slowly chip away and bring it within one point, forcing a Cougar timeout. Fresh out of the timeout, CUC would strike first and cross 20 points, making the final dash for five points. The two teams would exchange points and the Raiders would tie things up at 24 apiece with no CUC timeouts. A big time point from Stella would give the Cougars the lead back, but the Raiders would answer back once again. Tied at 25 apiece, a kill from Holubek would give the Cougars momentum for a block from Hoffman and Alexander Ford (Skokie, Ill.) would close the set with the 27-25 victory. 
 
 
SET THREE
For the third straight set, the Cougars would strike first and take the 1-0 lead. The Raiders would answer right back for the third straight set, but CUC would pick momentum right back up and jump ahead 2-1 with a Holubek kill. The set would continue to be a set of runs and the Cougars would climb ahead every other point, with the Raiders trailing just behind and leveling it up. CUC would grab the 12-10 lead with a huge swing from Holubek and then the 13-12 lead with a swing form Hoffman.
 
 
The Raiders would go on a 4-0 burst that would be broken up by a 3-0 for the Cougars, leveling things up at 16 apiece. MSOE would once again find some momentum go on a 3-0 run that would be broken up by a Holubek kill. MSOE would pass the 20 point mark first and eventually jump to the 22-18 point lead before a CUC time out would shift momentum. Fresh out of the timeout, kills from Holubek and Hoffman would force an MSOE timeout with the Cougars trailing by two.
 
 
The Cougars would tie things up after a block from Ford and Mosher paired with a service ace from Holubek would level the game at 23 apiece. A kill from the Raiders would be matched with a service error before another kill from the Raiders would be matched with a kill from Stella and tie things up at 25 apiece.
 
 
Unable to continue pushing, the Cougars would give up two consecutive points to the Raiders and fall in the set 27-25, falling behind in the match 2-1.
 
SET FOUR
In a do-or-die set, the Cougars would keep with the trend and strike first with a service ace from Stella. The Cougars would jump out to a 7-3 lead and force a MSOE timeout, but fresh out of the timeout the Cougars would score first once again.
 
 
The Raiders would start to make their climb back and bring the game within one point, but a kill from Stella would extend the Cougars back ahead by two. Exchanging points once again, the Cougars wouldn't break things open until a 4-0 run led with kills from Hoffman and Holubek and a service ace from Gudzovski that would force the Raiders to use their last timeout early.
 
Out of the timeout, the Raiders would have momentum and pick up six points to level the score at 17. The Raiders would continue to swing with some heat and take the 22-21 lead, despite the Cougars striking 20 first. A 3-0 run for the Raiders would put them within two points of victory, but a kill from Gudzovski would break up their run and bring the Cougars within one. A kill from the Raiders would put them at 24, but back-to-back points from the Cougars would level things at 24 apiece, keeping the Cougars alive a little while longer. A kill from the Raiders and an attack error from the Cougars would close the game with the Cougars falling in the set 26-24.
 
The Cougars would close the match 3-1 and end their 2025 season. They ended the season with a final record of 12-15 and a NACC record of 6-6. Keep up with all things CUCMVB in the offseason by following @CUC_CougarMVB on X and @CUCMVB on Instagram while updates, such as rosters and schedules can be found at cucougars.com.