[Men's Volleyball] Stritch Claims CCAC Tournament Title

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (April 7, 2018)—The Cardinal Stritch University Wolves men's volleyball program earned themselves a spot at the 2018 NAIA National Championship for the second consecutive season after taking home the 2018 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Title this afternoon over Robert Morris University (Ill.)

The No.1 seed Stritch Wolves defeated the No.3 seed Eagles in four sets (25-23, 24-26, 25-15, 25-17). Stritch pushed their overall mark to 24-7 while RMU concluded their 2018 season with an overall record of 25-10.

The Wolves took home the CCAC Regular Season Title with a conference mark of 12-1 and this is the second straight season they have won the CCAC Tournament giving them an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship Tournament.

The Wolves and Eagles rallied close, ultimately with Stritch taking an early 1-0 lead in a 25-23 match. RMU controlled most of the set jumping out ahead 7-3 with kills from Nicholas Allen and Colby Magorien. Stritch struggled to gain ground on the Eagles as errors stifled their momentum. A 7-4 run by the Wolves tied the contest at 20's and later they took their first lead off a kill by Felipe Mello Oliveira. CCAC Player of the Year Philip Schick pounded down the last point of the set for the Wolves overtaking RMU in the first set.

The Eagles came back to win the second set in another close 26-24 decision. RMU's Scott Poppen led the way with three kills and an attack percentage of .75. Eagles Bobby Ying tallied nine assists in the set. The two teams battled closed all throughout, never letting each other get ahead by more than four points. A 4-0 run mid-set that was capped off by a Scott Poppen kill to the left back corner accelerated the Eagles to a 9-5 advantage. Stritch was able to redeem themselves but were unable to take the second set, allowing RMU to tie the contest at 1-1.

A fast third set put the Wolves back in the pole position with impressive four and five kill set by Mello Oliveira and Trent Sellers. Stritch took the third set 25-15 thanks to a 15-6 run.

The Wolves came out hot in the fourth set, quickly taking an 11-4 advantage to start things off. Kills by Eagles' Nicholas Allen and Nik Spallina brought RMU back within six points but that is close as they would get to the 2018 CCAC Regular Season Champions. Stritch would take the fourth and final set 25-17.

Game Leaders