Men's Volleyball Snaps Losing Streak with Win at Cardinal Stritch

Men's Volleyball Snaps Losing Streak with Win at Cardinal Stritch

MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Viterbo University Men's Volleyball team got back in the win column last night as they topped Cardinal Stritch University 3-1 (26-24, 21-25, 25-19, 26-24). The win breaks a 10-games losing streak, and brings the V-Hawks to 4-11 on the season (2-5 CCAC), while the Wolves sit at 3-5 (1-5 CCAC).

Cardinal Stritch errors and Jacob Nonn kills helped the V-Hawks jump out to a 9-3 lead in the opening set. The Wolves would battle back to bring the  game to 10-9, but Juan Banda's kills kept VU in the lead by a slight margin. CSU would finally take a late lead, 17-19, and again at 20-23. Banda would fuel the 6-1 V-Hawks run at the end of the set with another kill and won it with an ace, 26-24.

The teams would alternate points to start the second, with seven ties by the time Joe Todd's solo block brought the score to 9-10. Logan Amdur set up Todd and Garran Wilming for a pair of kills, but a small run gave Cardinal Stritch a lead that Viterbo could not surmount. Despite late kills from Nonn and Alex Katzenstein, the Wolves would win 21-25.

The third set started with teams trading errors until Nonn's ace and Kratzenstein's solo block put Viterbo up 11-7. Todd and Banda would contribute kills as well, but the third set would primarily be CSU errors, and Viterbo would win 25-19.

The V-Hawks took another early lead in the fourth with the help of Daxton Marschall's service ace, and a Banda-Kratzenstein block brought the score to 10-9. The Wolves took an 11-14 lead, but a Todd-Caleb Koza block sparked a run for Viterbo that gave the, a 17-14 lead. Nonn kept the V-Hawks alive as the Wolves tied the game at 24-24, but Koza ended the set with a solo block and kill, 26-24.

Nonn led all players with 22 kills on ridiculous .425 hitting, Jaden Wiest had 21 assists, and Banda added a double double with 13 kills and 11 digs. Kyle Pietrzak had 15 kills for CSU and Jake Evanish dished 42 assists.

The V-Hawks return to action on Thursday, March 2 as they host Roosevelt University (Ill.)