MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Concordia Wisconsin men's volleyball team competed in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament for the sixth time in program history on Tuesday night. The Falcons faced a tough test in the NACC Tournament Quarterfinals against the 13th-ranked Raiders of MSOE. The Raiders posted an undefeated NACC season at 12-0 and collected a 25-21, 25-19, 26-24 victory on Tuesday to advance.
Concordia rode some early momentum on Tuesday night and held an early 4-1 lead after a thunderous kill from sophomore Reid Scott (Chandler, Ariz.). The Raiders quickly stormed back and took a 6-5 lead.
The two teams fought back and fourth and a service error gave the Falcons a 15-14 lead.
The Raiders rebounded and reclaimed the lead with the next three points. The Falcons cut the MSOE lead to two on two more occasions, but the Raiders claimed the first set at 25-21.
MSOE led wire-to-wire in the second set on Tuesday. The Falcons fought until the end and cut the MSOE lead to 22-18 with a service ace for Reid Scott that bounced off the tape. Sophomore Parker Butterfass (Shakopee, Minn.) chipped the deficit to 23-19 with an off-speed kill, but the Raiders closed the set at 25-19.
A senior Chase Ammons (Elm Grove, Wis.) kill gave the Falcons the lead at 2-1 in the third set. A block from Parker Butterfass and senior Tate Miller (Anthem, Ariz.) quieted the Kern Center at 8-5 and forced MSOE to call a timeout. The Raiders responded with a 5-0 run to reclaim the lead. An electric kill from Parker Butterfass trimmed the score to 10-11, but that is as close as Concordia could get until the Birds cut the MSOE to 16-15 on an attacking error and Reid Scott tied the set at 17 with a tricky off-speed shot.
Reid Scott tied the set at 19 with a service ace down the line and after a Parker Butterfass kill tied the set, the Falcons elevated the lead to 22-20 with a sophomore Owen Kolozsy (Carol Stream, Ill.) kill at 22-20 to force a MSOE timeout.
The Raiders stormed back one last time to claim the set at 26-24.
Concordia featured a balanced attack on Tuesday with Reid Scott at 10 kills. Hayden Hurley dished out 23 assists and Owen Kolozsy had eight digs.
The Falcons finish the season with a 6-17 record and qualified for the NACC Tournament after clinching the eighth seed with a 3-0 victory over Lakeland on Saturday.
Tuesday marked the final match for the trio of Chase Ammons, Tate Miller and Will Wood (Savage, Minn.).
The Raiders will host the winner of the Benedictine and Wisconsin Lutheran match.
