Raiders Outlast Falcons in NACC Quarterfinals

MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Concordia Wisconsin men's volleyball team saw its 2024 campaign come to a close on Tuesday night, falling to the 14-10 MSOE Raiders in the opening round of the NACC Tournament. The contest marked the Falcons' fifth consecutive berth in the conference tournament, having gone 8-4 in NACC play in 2024.

The first set was extremely competitive between the two squads, as neither team built a lead of more than four points. Just as well, the frame witnessed 16 ties as well as seven exchanges of the lead. As a team, The Falcons won 11 of their 27 rallies by way of kills, five of which came from the hand of sophomore Tate Miller (Anthem, Ariz.).

After taking two of three points to begin the opening set, Concordia battled back from a series of small deficits before eventually reclaiming the lead at 11-10 with three straight tallies. MSOE created a bit of separation in the contest in the minutes that followed, taking a 17-13 lead, however, the Falcons fought back to even the score at 21.

While the Raiders won the race to 25, Concordia remained in contention on the scoreboard, battling back from set point on three occasions. Ultimately, the comeback attempt fell just shy, as MSOE went on to take the opening frame by a 29-27 score.

The Falcons dominated the early going of the second set, jumping out to a 9-5 advantage after a sequence that included three kills from senior Spencer Herman (Kimberly, Wis.). After a timeout, the Raiders stormed back into play, seizing the lead at 14-13. From that point forward, Concordia battled back to a tie five times, but MSOE refused to give up the lead. Junior Lucas Beres (Germantown, Wis.) picked up the Falcons' lone service ace of the game in the closing moments of the set, but the effort was unable to spark a rally, as the Raiders won the set by a 25-23 score to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Raiders took control of the third set early on, however, kills from Herman and sophomore Will Wood (Savage, Minn.) as well as a service error brought Concordia back to a tie at eight points on each side of the scoreboard. However, MSOE assembled a run in the moments that followed to put it in prime position to win the game. As the Raiders neared 25 points, the Falcons strung together four of six rallies late, but the magic fell short as MSOE went on to claim the contest by a 25-21 victory in the set.

The Falcons conclude the season with an overall record of 12-11, with the squad's 12 wins eclipsed only by Concordia's 2023 campaign, which went 15-10. The team's seven wins at home in 2024 also sit high atop the record books, standing as the second-most in a season in program history.