Kingsmen Split Final Day in Illinois

Kingsmen Split Final Day in Illinois

RIVER FOREST, Illin. —  California Lutheran University men's volleyball finished their Illinois road trip by splitting Saturday's matches against Aurora University and Concordia Chicago. The matches each lasted 4 sets with the Kingsmen falling short in a 1-3 loss against Aurora and then recovering to claim a 3-1 victory over Concordia Chicago.

The Kingsmen rode a 3 match win streak into Saturday in a rematch against Aurora University, whom they'd defeated 3-1 earlier this month.

The Spartans of Aurora took a first set lead at 14-13 and would not relinquish it. Kills by Jake Tucker and Ben Weber took the Kingsmen to 23, but the Spartans were able to finish for a 25-23 win.

The second set was tied late a 22-22. Aurora was able to take advantage of a few mistakes to take the set 25-23.

The Kingsmen established a large lead in the third set at 24-16. The Spartans tried to make a late push with a 4 point run but sophomore opposite Jake Tucker was able to put an exclamation point on the set with a kill to give Cal Lutheran a 25-20 win.

Aurora managed to generate a number of runs in the fourth set that allowed them to create some space at 19-10. With that lead in hand, the Spartans held off the Kingsmen and took set 4 25-17 for a 3-1 match win.

The Kingsmen were led by outside hitter Ben Weber's 16 kills and Jake Tucker's 10 kills on offense and setter Taylor Marks' 13 digs to go along with his 35 assists.

 

Cal Lutheran was able to reset and dial up the offense when they returned to the court against the Cougars of Concordia Chicago.

The Kingsmen put down an incredible 18 kills and just 3 errors in the first set. Their .341 hitting percentage was enough to earn a 25-23 win in the set.

The Kingsmen offense continued to roll with another 17 kills in the second set. That level of offensive output continued to be necessary as the Kingsmen won another close set 25-22.

The Cougars were able to slow the Cal Lutheran offense in set 3. The Kingsmen still outpaced the Cougars at the net, but Concordia Chicago was able to parlay an early 17-11 lead into a 25-20 win to force a fourth set.

Cal Lutheran re-established their dominance at the net in set 4. With just 2 hitting errors and a .462 hitting percentage, the Kingsmen left no doubt in a 25-15 win that clinched their 3-1 match win.

Ben Weber tallied 21 kills and 17 digs, both career highs, for his first double-double. Jake Tucker also reached double digits with 10 kills while senior libero Eli Moore added 13 digs.

The Kingsmen will be back on the court to celebrate Senior Night with a match against Moorpark College Thursday night at 7:00pm.

Box Score: CLU 1; AU 3CLU3; CUC 1
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Release by Steven Lohn, Assistant Sports Information Director