Falcons split matches at Off the Block Grow the Game Challenge

ANGOLA, Ind. -- Concordia Wisconsin was efficient to begin the morning, but its offense sputtered in the second match of the day to split a pair of non-conference contests. The Falcons defeated Thiel 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 28-26) before losing 3-0 to Trine (25-22, 25-16, 25-18).

THE BASICS
Final Scores: Concordia Wisconsin 3, Thiel 0 (25-23, 25-20, 28-26); Trine 3, Concordia Wisconsin 0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-18)
Location: Hersey Hall (Angola, Ind.)
Records: Concordia Wisconsin 1-2, Theil 0-2, Trine 1-3

HOW IT HAPPENED
Concordia Wisconsin 3, Thiel 0

Concordia Wisconsin came out strong offensively to begin the morning, hitting over .260 in the first and second sets to take control of the match against Thiel. They had just seven hitting errors through the first 50 points of the match.

"It was great to see our guys turn things around in 14 hours, showing a high level of focus and their fundamentals were great," head coach Curtis Madison explained. "It's always tough to play in these types tournaments, with matches in a short amount of time, and to execute at that level is great to see."

Sophomore James Althoff (Kenosha, Wis.) led the offense with 17 kills and a .314 hitting percentage, to go along with seven digs, three blocks and a pair of service aces. Senior Matthew Korman (Roscoe, Ill.) assisted on 32 kills and dug six attack attempts. Junior Blake Schwandt (Kenosha, Wis.) and freshman Andy Ellingham (Burlington, Wis.) each had three blocks.

"It was great to see a full team effort pull us to the win," Madson said about the victory. "James had a great match, but the play of both Blake and Andy in the middle was huge. Connor and Jeremy stepped up and filled their roles as needed, and I think Matt did an amazing job running our offense."

Trine 3, Concordia Wisconsin 0

The Falcons offense cooled off and hit just .038 as a team and wasn't able to work around the Trine block. The opening set was tied 21-21, but the Thunder went on a 4-1 scoring run to earn some early confidence.

"Give credit to Trine, they played very well today," expressed Madson. "Honestly, I think we did a lot of good things, but in the end, they had our number."

Concordia Wisconsin had just three players have a positive hitting percentage, with Schwandt and freshman Connor Rasch (Racine, Wis.) each registering six kills. Korman had 21 assists, while Ellingham tallied three blocks (one solo).

"This weekend was a good way to get a look at who we are and what we were made of," Madson said of the three matches played in less than a day. "We had to make adjustments on the fly with our lineup and as a whole, I think the guys did a great job adjusting and pushing through. I think we found some things we need to get back in the gym and improve upon, but I also was very impressed with some of the things we did."

WEEKEND NOTES
Althoff led the Falcons with 40 kills and five service aces, Korman had 85 assists, freshman Dylan Griffith had 23 digs and Schwandt posted a .325 hitting percentage and nine blocks (two solo).