Falcons clinch spot in NACC Tournament

MEQUON, Wis. -- A season ago it was all about laying the foundation for the future and now in year two it is all about progress and checking off goals. An emphatic kill sent Concordia Wisconsin into jubilation on Friday night after a 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-22) victory over Illinois Tech, which checked off the goal of earning a spot in the NACC Tournament.

The Falcons who are the sixth seed will travel to third-seeded Aurora for the opening round of the NACC Tournament on Tuesday at 7 pm

THE BASICS
Final Score: Concordia Wisconsin 3, Illinois Tech 0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-22)
Location: R. John Buuck Field House (Mequon, Wis.)
Records: Concordia Wisconsin 9-13, 5-10 NACC; Illinois Tech 6-18, 3-12 NACC

QUOTING JAMES ALTHOFF AND CURTIS MADSON


HOW IT HAPPENED
- Concordia Wisconsin played strong from the onset to set the tone going forward, as it owned an 8-3 lead and extending it to 15-4 midway through the first set. The end result after hitting .273 as a team and limiting Illinois Tech to .031, which would be a 25-14 win.
- WIth numerous rallies that lasted for what seemed forever, the Falcons found the way to keep the ball alive and get it to freshman James Althoff (Kenosha, Wis.) who had one his best performances of the season. The wave of momentum continued to shift toward Concordia Wisconsin after they claimed set two, 25-17, and a 2-0 lead in the match.
- Althoff slammed the door shut with back-to-back kills in the third set to complete the Falcons sweep and clinch the sixth seed in the NACC Tournament. He had 17 kills, hit .467 (17K-3E-30A), dug 10 attack attempts and served a pair of aces.
- It was a complete team effort all the way around, with freshman Connor Muff (Kenosha, Wis.) keeping the offense moving with 23 assists, to go along with two service aces, seven digs and five blocks. Freshman Turner Fuhrer (Kenosha, Wis.) had 10 digs and helped out with a season-high five assists.
- Sophomore Isaac Glynn (Byron, Minn.) ended with five kills, while sophomore Blake Schwandt (Kenosha, Wis.) had three kills and seven blocks (one solo). Freshman Cody Sciabica (Henderson, Nev.) posted four blocks and sophomore Sam Rovik (Silver Lake, Wis.) recorded four kills, five digs and three blocks.
- Andriy Bench led Illinois Tech with 10 kills and Michael Ganczar dished out 23 assists and dug eight attack attempts.

MATCH NOTES
- The Falcons had 21 block assists, which is the third time they had 20 or more in a match this season. They had 12 total blocks, which is the third highest total in program history.

NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE
- Concordia Wisconsin concludes the regular season on Saturday at 1 pm when it hosts Aurora inside the R. John Buuck Field House.