RIVER FOREST, Ill. -- The Adrian College men's volleyball team traveled to Concordia Chicago where the they fell to the Cougars 3-1. The Bulldogs lost the first set 25-21, won the second set 27-25, and lost sets three and four by scores of 25-14 and 25-23. 

THE BASICS

Final: Adrian College 3, Concordia Chicago 0

Location: River Forest, Ill. (Geiseman Gymnasium)

Records: Adrian 4-2, Concordia Chicago 1-0

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Bulldogs started set one with an early lead after a service ace from Noah Marcinkowski to take a 7-5 lead. After an Adrian timeout with a 10-10 tie, Concordia Chicago went on a 7-3 run to take a 19-15 lead. The Bulldogs came back and went on a 4-0 run to bring the set to within one and forced the Cougars to call a timeout. With the set tied 21-21, the Cougars took control and finished the set on a 4-0 run to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Set two started with a back-and-forth battle as Adrian went up 11-9 on a kill from Peyton Doelling. The two teams continued to trade points until Concordia Chicago came ahead and took a 20-18 lead. Back-to-back errors by the Cougars tied the game again at 20-20. After a service ace by Marcinkowski to take a 23-22 lead, Concordia Chicago called a timeout. After the timeout, the Bulldogs went up 24-22, but the Cougars tied the set 24-24. Needing to win by two, the Bulldogs forced two attack errors and took the second set 27-25.

In the third set, Concordia Chicago caught the Bulldogs sleeping and jumped out to a 15-5 lead that was led by a 12-3 run. Two kills from the Cougars and two service errors from Adrian gave Concordia Chicago a big lead at 23-10. The Bulldogs kept fighting and went on a small 3-0 run with a kill from Joseph Campana, but Concordia Chicago regained the match lead 2-1 after taking set three 25-14.

The Bulldogs regrouped in set four and went on an early 4-0 run led by two aces from Marcinkowski. With Jake Simpson serving, Adrian forced two attack errors to tie the set at 14-14. Concordia Chicago gained control again and went on a 6-1 run to lead 22-18. The Bulldogs battled to the end as Marcinkowski, Doelling, and Tedrick Gula all came up with late kills, but the Cougars responded with a kill of their own and took set four 25-23, and the match 3-1.

UP NEXT

The Bulldogs return to action on the road in Chicago, Illinois where they will take on North Park University and Maranatha Baptist on Saturday, January 18. The matches are scheduled for 12:00 PM EST and 4:30 PM EST.