Men's Volleyball Falls to Judson on the Road

ELGIN, Ill. – The Viterbo University Men's Volleyball team dropped a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) battle on the road at Judson University (Ill.) on Tuesday night, 1-3 (16-25, 16-25, 25-22, 22-25). The V-Hawks fall to 7-18 (4-8 CCAC), while the Eagles improve to 17-5 (10-2 CCAC).

While Caleb Koza earned the first point of the match with a kill, Judson would quickly take the 3-6 lead. Logan Amdur found Jacob Nonn for multiple kills to slow down the Eagles, but despite Joe Todd's kill and JU errors, the Eagles would still end the set on an 0-6 run to win 16-25.

The teams traded early runs in the second, with The V-Hawks led by Amdur and Alex Kratzenstein, but a 1-8 run by the Eagles, interrupted only by a Justin Kratzenstein-Amdur block gave them a commanding 9-16 lead. The teams would trade points from there, as Nonn recorded a service ace, and J. Kratzenstein and Kou Her put down kills, but the V-Hawks couldn't put together a run and lost 16-25.

Viterbo claimed all the momentum to start the third set, as Koza and J. Kratzenstein each had kills, and combined for a block, setting up a 7-1 VU lead. Judson answered and managed to tie the match at 11-11. Nonn would take over, scoring five of VU's next seven points, and with the help of aces from Todd and Juan Banda, Viterbo won 25-22.

With the help of solo blocks by A. Kratzenstein and Nonn, Viterbo claimed the early 8-6 edge in the fourth as well. Daxton Marschall added an ace, and Her's kill kept that advantage, 14-12, but the Eagles tied the match, and alternated points, leading to a 19-19 tie. After Judson went up 20-23, Koza and Nonn had a last effort to  rally, but the Eagles claimed victory 22-25.

Nonn led all players with 19 kills, and assed two aces as well. Amdur had 31 assists, and Banda was the only player with double-digit digs at 10. Elijah Gregg led three eagles with double digit kills at 15, and Elijah Wrobel posted 45 assists.

Viterbo returns to action on Thursday, March 23 as they host Cardinal Stritch University in their final home match of the season.