Men's Volleyball Rallies to Down Concordia Chicago

RIVER FOREST, Ill. – The Concordia University Wisconsin men's volleyball team completed a dramatic reverse sweep on Saturday, emerging victorious in a thrilling five-set battle against Concordia Chicago. The Falcons triumphed 3-2, with set scores of 23-25, 26-28, 25-21, 27-25, and 15-8.

The win marked the Falcons' first Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) victory, pushing their overall record to 3-11.

The match started with a tightly contested first set. Despite battling back to tie the score at 22-all, thanks to an ace from senior Lucas Beres (Germantown, Wis.), the Cougars would finish strong, taking three of the final four points to claim the first set 25-23.

The second set followed a similar script, with both teams exchanging points and neither gaining a significant edge. A pivotal kill from freshman Reid Scott (Chandler, Ariz.), assisted by fellow freshman Hayden Hurley (Gilbert, Ariz.), tied the score at 22-22. After several more ties at 23, 24, 25, and 26 points, Scott delivered CUW's last three points. However, the Cougars held firm in the final moments, claiming the set 28-26 and taking a 2-0 lead in the match.

Determined to battle back, the Falcons rallied in the third set.

Tied through much of the action, CUW capitalized on key defensive plays.

Back-to-back blocks from Scott and Beres, followed by another block from Beres and freshman Owen Kolozsy (Carol Stream, Ill.), put the Falcons up 19-17.

Junior Chase Ammons (Elm Grove, Wis.) added a solo block, extending the lead to 21-18, and CUW closed out the set with a kill from Kolozsy and some Cougar errors, taking it 25-21.

The fourth set was an intense back-and-forth affair. Trailing 17-11, the Falcons mounted an impressive comeback, eventually tying the score at 20-20.

The rally featured key contributions from Kolozsy, Ammons, and some costly errors from CUC.

The set remained neck-and-neck, with both teams tying at 22, 23, 24, and 25 points.

Kolozsy sealed the set with back-to-back kills, one set up by Hurley and the other by senior Logan Kebisek (Brookfield, Wis.), sending the match to a decisive fifth set.

In the fifth set, the Falcons seized control early, racing out to a 7-1 lead behind kills from Miller and Beres and a block from Beres.

Ammons and Kolozsy added another block to push the Falcons' advantage to 9-3. The Falcons continued to build on their momentum, with kills from Ammons, Miller, and Scott and a final block from Miller and Beres, putting the match out of reach.

Miller sealed the win with a kill, giving CUW a 15-8 victory and completing the reverse sweep.

The Falcons hit .268 as a team compared to CUC's .221 attacking percentage. Defensively, CUW recorded 11 blocks, while the Cougars had just six. The Falcons also held the advantage in aces, registering six compared to three for CUC.

Offensively, the Falcons were well-balanced, with Tate Miller leading the way with 14 kills on a .500 hitting percentage. Scott also tallied 14 kills, while Kolozsy contributed 13. Beres added nine kills, also hitting at .500.

Hurley set the offense up efficiently, finishing with 34 assists and two service aces. Defensively, Beres anchored the block with six total blocks, including one solo, while Ammons contributed five blocks, with one solo. Kolozsy and Scott led the team in digs with 15 each.

The Falcons now have a brief break before returning to action on Tuesday, March 11, when they travel to Lakeland to defend the Highway 57 Cup.