River Forest, Ill. - The Concordia University Chicago men's volleyball team was back on their home court to welcome their Division Street rivals, the Stars of Dominican University. After a tough battle, the Stars defeated the Cougars 3-1.
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Inside the Box Score:
- Jackson Stella (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) led the night's match with 17 points, 16 kills, an assist, 11 digs, two blocks and led with 46 total attacks.
- Leon Gudzovski (Des Plaines, Ill.) ended the night's match with 14 points, nine kills, two aces, six blocks, and 15 total attacks.
- Tristan Caminar (Bolingbrook, Ill.) concluded the night's match with 11 points, 8 kills, an assist, an ace, 11 digs, three blocks, and 27 total attacks.
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Here's What Happened
Set One
The Cougars took the first point of the set with a kill from Caminar. A kill from the Stars earned them the ball right back. The teams exchanged points in the start of the set before the Stars took the lead. With errors from the Stars and kills from Stella, the set was tied up, 10-10. The Cougars eventually took on the lead with a kill from Caminar. An attack from Gudzovski helped pushed the Cougars' lead to three points. The Cougars were the first to surpass 20 with kills from Stella. The Cougars built up their advantage to six points. The Cougars took the first set with a score of 25-19, going into the second set on top, 1-0.
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Set Two
The Stars grabbed the first point of the set after an error from the Cougars and continued to extend their lead after an ace to five points. The Cougars took their first points from a Star error and an ace from Caminar. The Cougars went on a 3-0 run after a block from
Tyrise Armstrong (Grayslake, Ill.) knocked the Stars off the net. A kill and an ace from Gudzovski pushed the Stars' lead down to three. A strong kill from
Alexander Ford (Skokie, Ill.) helped the Cougars close in on their opponents. A Dominican error and an attack from Ford got the Cougars within one. The Stars rallied and extended back out to a four-point advantage, with the Cougars still fighting. The Stars were the first to approach set point. The Stars took the second set with a score of 25-21, the teams going into the third set tied, 1-1.
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Set Three
The Stars gained their first point of the set with a kill. Gudzovski then came in with a kill of his own. The Stars took the lead; an attack from Stella broke up a 3-0 run for the Stars, but they continued to lead by four points. Kills from Gudzovski and Stella brought the Cougars within two. Blocks and an attack from the Cougars tied the teams up. The teams began trading points, until the Stars found a rhythm and gained their lead back, stacking on three points. The Cougars fought for the top spot, trailing by one once more. Kills from
Elijah Mosher (Clayton, Ohio) and Caminar tied the set at 24-24 and forced extra points. The Stars took the third set with a score of 28-26, going into the fourth set in the lead, 2-1.
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Set Four
The Stars wasted no time in taking the lead at the start of the set, capitalizing on the Cougars' mistakes. The Cougars bit back and tied up with their opponents. The Stars reclaimed the lead but kills from Armstrong helped keep the Cougars within two. The Stars broke 10 first but a few errors and a kill from Gudzovski gave the Cougars the lead, 12-11. The teams traded points until the Stars could finally break free, 22-17. However, kills from Caminar and Gudzovski and a block by Gudzovski and Stella put the Cougars within one, 23-22. Unfortunately, the Stars finished out the set on top, 25-23 and took the match, 3-1.
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What's Next
The team will make their way to Milwaukee, Wis. on March 7th to go up against the Warriors of Wisconsin Lutheran College. The match will take place at the Time of Grace Center at 12 pm. Coverage for all things CUC men's volleyball can be found at
cucougars.com/coverage.
