Falcons Fly Past Eagles as Herman Reaches 1,000 Career Kills

MADISON, Wis. – The CUW men's volleyball team improved to 2-0 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) and 6-5 overall, following their 3-0 win over the Eagles of Edgewood College, 25-19, 25-21 and 25-18. 

With the win, the Falcons extended their winning streak to four games. 

In the effort, senior Spencer Herman (Kimberly, Wis.) became the first player in CUW men's volleyball program history to reach the 1,000-kill milestone. 

The opening points saw a close matchup between the two schools. Concordia held a narrow 8-6 lead following a kill from senior Andy Ellingham (Burlington, Wis.) on an assist from junior Logan Kebisek (Brookfield, Wis.).

That kill would spark a 6-2 run in CUW's advantage, putting the score at 14-8 as junior Lucas Beres (Germantown, Wis.) recorded a kill in that stretch. 

CUW's lead would continue to grow as Spencer Herman and Logan Kebisek connected to put the Falcons up eight, 18-10. 

Another kill from Lucas Beres would inch the Falcons closer to the 25-point mark and make the score 23-16. 

Another kill from Spencer Herman and an Eagle attacking error would earn CUW the 25-19 first-set victory. 

Like the early parts of the first set, the Falcons and Eagles battled in a close contest, as CUW would establish a one-point lead before Edgewood would level the score. 

With the score even at 11-11 in the second, Spencer Herman would record his eighth kill of the day and become the first Falcon to enter the 1,000-kill club. 

From this point in the set, CUW slowly pulled away, as a Concordia kill and then an error from the Eagles would put the Blue and White up three, 15-12. 

Later in the set, the Falcons would rally three straight points to increase their lead to seven, 20-13, as sophomore Tate Miller (Anthem, Ariz.) recorded a kill. 

Despite the comeback effort from Edgewood, the Falcons sustained their healthy margin and closed out the set following a kill from Spencer Herman to take the 25-21 second set victory. 

Riding their momentum from the previous set, the Falcons jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead at the beginning of the third set, which included two service aces from Logan Kebisek. 

But determined to take one set, the Eagles battled back to cut their deficit to just two, 12-10.

However, the Falcons would respond with a run of their own to squash the Eagles' run as they scored three straight to retake a five-point margin, as Lucas Beres had a kill to make the score 15-10. 

Later in the set, a kill from Logan Kebisek would put the score at 20-15 as Concordia continued to hold their lead. 

CUW scored three straight to close the set to bring a match point. Ultimately, Tate Miller put the match away with a kill to put the score 25-18, as the Falcons completed the sweep over Edgewood.

Spencer Herman led the match with 12 kills, while Tate Miller recorded double-digit kills with 10. 

Meanwhile, Andy Ellingham compiled a .444 hitting percentage, while Logan Kebisek totaled 31 assists. Kebisek also had a game-high two service aces.

Defensively, CUW was led by Lucas Beres, who had 3.5 total blocks, while sophomore Parker Pearson (Keller, Texas) had 14 digs. 

On top of his offensive milestone, Spencer Herman also had 13 digs. 

The Falcons will continue NACC action on Tuesday, Feb. 27th, when they travel north to take on the Sabres of Marian University.