Aurora edges CUW in five sets

AURORA, Ill. – The CUW men's volleyball team battled for five sets on Tuesday night at Aurora. The Falcons fell, 21-25, 25-21, 25-20,21-25, 21-23 to fall to 3-5 on the year and to 3-4 in the NACC. Tuesday night was the first time that CUW took a set from the Spartans.

"Tonight was an amazing atmosphere, competition, and I couldn't be more proud of how we battled all night.," said head coach Curtis Madson. "To be down 10-6 in the fifth, and push it to extra points and lose 21-23 is tough, but also amazing as it shows we are headed in the right direction. We are learning how to compete and play with the top teams in the country, eventually, we will get over the hump and start picking up these wins. I was very happy with some of the adjustments in the serve pass game we made, we need to be a little  cleaner, but all in all, we put ourselves in a good position to run our offense and be successful."

The Spartans were able to get some separation late in the first set at 17-17 with a 4-1 run and secure the set at 25-21.

The second set was tightly contested with neither team able to grow a lead greater than two points until a kill from junior James Althoff (Kenosha, Wis.) at 23-20. Althoff ended the set at 25-21 with a service ace, he finished the set with three.

With the third set tied at 15, the Falcons broke free behind the serve of Nathan Petrus. The Spartans cut the Concordia lead to 21-20, but the Falcons closed the set with a 4-0 run at 25-20. Freshman Spencer Herman (Appleton, Wis.) finished the set with six kills.

The Spartans reversed the role in the fourth set and closed the set on 9-5 run to force a fifth set.

The Falcons and Spartans were able to fight off eight combined match points, but the Spartans escaped with a 23-21 victory.

James Althoff led the flock with 16 kills, and three service aces on Tuesday with Spencer Herman following behind at 15 kills. Herman also was a part of five blocks at Aurora.

Freshman Nathan Petrus (St. Louis, Mo.) collected 40 assists in the loss.

The Falcons are back on the court on Friday night when they host Illinois Tech.