Virginia Beach, Va. - The Concordia University Chicago men's volleyball team traveled to Virginia Beach, Va. to battle against the Hornets of the University of Lynchburg and the WHAT. After a strong performance, the Cougars swept the Hornets 3-0 but fell to the Marlins 3-1. 
 
Match One: 3-0 W vs Lynchburg
Inside the Box Score:

• Leon Gudzovski (Des Plaines, Ill.) topped the afternoon's match with 15.5 points, 12 kills, an ace, four blocks, two digs and 13 total attacks.
• Tristan Caminar (Bolingbrook, Ill.) ended the afternoon's match with 9.5 points, eight kills, an assist, an ace, a block, six digs and 18 total attacks.
• Tyrise Armstrong (Grayslake, Ill.) concluded the afternoon's match with eight points, six kills, an ace, two blocks, four digs and led with 23 total attacks.

 
Here's What Happened
Set One
A kill from Gudzovski gave the Cougars the first point. Another kill from Gudzovski and errors from the Hornets secured the lead for the Cougars. A kill and ace from Armstrong kept the Cougars in the lead by four. The Hornets began their comeback, delivering kills of their own. Caminar retaliated with some kills, keeping the lead. Attacks from Gudzovski, Caminar and Marcin Hoffman (Inverness, Ill.) brought the lead to seven points. The Hornets push back with aces and kills, putting themselves within three. A kill from Caminar helped the Cougars break 20. The Cougars continued to power forward with attacks. A Hornet error and an ace from Gudzovski closed out the set; the Cougars took the first set with a score of 25-20, going into the second set, 1-0.
 
Set Two
The Hornets took on the first point of the set. A kill from Alexander Ford (Skokie, Ill.) tied the teams up, but the Hornets took the lead early on. Errors from the Cougars and aces from the Hornets gave the team a four-point advantage. The Cougars started to close in with kills from Caminar and Gudzovski, going on a 7-0 run, grabbing the lead. A kill from a Hornet broke up the run; Gudzovski continued to lay out major kills, but errors from the Cougars brought the Hornets within one. The teams eventually tied up 18-18. The Cougars kept bringing their attacks, breaking the tie and gaining a three-point lead. Kills from Elijah Mosher (Clayton, Ohio), Hoffman, Ford and Caminar were especially strong. The Cougars took the second set with a score of 25-23, going into the third set in the lead, 2-0.
 
Set Three
Gudzovski grabbed the first point of the set. The team exchanged points in the start; errors and a kill from Armstrong gave the Cougars the lead. An attack from Caminar had gotten the Cougars to 10. The teams tied up again, but kills from Ford and Hoffman got the Cougars up. The Cougars maintained a lead of three to four points a majority of the time. Consistently errors helped the Cougars grab the third and final set with a score of 25-20. The Cougars swept the Hornets with a finale of 3-0.

Match Two: 3-1 L vs Virginia Wesleyan 
Inside the Box Score:

• Leon Gudzovski (Des Plaines, Ill.) led the afternoon's match with 15.5 points, 12 kills, six blocks and 22 total attacks.
• Tristan Caminar (Bolingbrook, Ill.) ended the afternoon's match with 13 points, 12 kills, an assist, two blocks, four digs and led with 28 total attacks.
• Alexander Ford (Skokie, Ill.) concluded the afternoon's match with 12.5 points, nine kills, two aces, three blocks, three digs and 17 total attacks.

 
Here's What Happened
Set One
The Marlins started off strong, getting the first points of the set. Caminar and Gudzovski countered this with kills. The Marlins continued to lead. A kill from Ford and an ace from Tyrise Armstrong (Grayslake, Ill.) had put the Cougars within one. Kills from Elijah Mosher (Clayton, Ohio) tied the teams up. The teams battled for the top spot, exchanging attacks. Errors from the Marlins had put the Cougars in the lead. A kill from Caminar gave the Cougars a four-point lead. Kills from Gudzovski continued to keep the Cougars up. The Marlins came within three before an ace from Armstrong and an error helped the Cougars break 20. Attacks from Ford and Caminar got the Cougars to set point. The Cougars took the first set with a score of 25-19, heading into the second set on top, 1-0.
 
Set Two
A kill from the Marlins grabbed the first point of the set. They had gotten another point before Armstrong delivered a kill. The Marlins quickly gained the lead; The Cougars closed up the score gap with a kill and an attack error from a Marlin. The Marlins began the push back, leaving the Cougars with a four-point disadvantage. The Cougars continued to trail by three, even with kills from Marcin Hoffman (Inverness, Ill.) and Gudzovski. The Marlins capitalized on their attacks and pushed the Cougars down by eight points. The Cougars got the deficit down to four, eventually getting within two as Mosher delivered a kill. The Marlins were the first to get to set points. The Marlins took the second set with a score of 25-23, the teams going into the third set tied, 1-1.
 
Set Three
An ace from Ford started off the set for the Cougars. The teams exchanged points in the beginning of the set, kills landed by Gudzovski and Caminar, but errors from the Cougars had put the Marlins in the lead. The Cougars obtained a five-point disadvantage before blocks from Gudzovski and Armstrong earned the ball back. The Marlins got the ball right back, but the Cougars worked hard to get within four with kills from Mosher and blocks from both Mosher and Ford. The Marlins proceeded to push ahead of the Cougars, leading by nine. The Cougars won't give up as Gudzovski and Armstrong hammered down kills; the Marlins still managed to break 20. As the set closed in, the Cougars still faced a seven-point deficit. The Marlins took the third set with a score of 25-16, taking the lead going into the fourth set, 2-1.
 
Set Four
The Marlins obtained the first points of the set with kills. Caminar grabbed the first point for the Cougars with a kill of his own. The Cougars trailed by four, until Tate Johnson (Plainfield, Ill.) got a kill in, breaking up the potential run. A kill from Armstrong, along with a block from both Armstrong and Ford brought the Cougars within two. The teams tied up 10-10; the teams fought for the lead, the Cougars down by five. Gudzovski retaliated against the building lead with multiple kills, along with Ford with an attack. The Cougars slowly approached the Marlins, still at a disadvantage, but clawing back. The Marlins took the fourth and final set with a score of 25-22, beating the Cougars 3-1.
 
What's Next
The team will be back on their home court to face off against the Stars of Dominican University on Thursday, March 5th. The match will take place at 7 pm. Coverage for all things CUC men's volleyball can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.