64 assists by Garrett Payne helped the Wolves open their California trip on a winning note
Fullerton, Calif. - The Cardinal Stritch University Wolves men’s volleyball team started out their trip to California two key wins. After a hard-fought 3-2 win over the Johnson & Wales University Wildcats, the Wolves rolled to a 3-0 sweep over Holy Names University rolling on the right track in California.
The Wolves came out hot in the first game, scoring three consecutive points with kills by Austin Cass (Madison, Wis.) and Fernando Bernal (Miami, Fla.), and a service ace by Bernal. The Wolves’ immediate 3-0 lead certainly set the tone for the rest of the game as Johnson and Wales struggled to get a lead of their own. An attack error at 7-5 by Fernando Bernal brought the Wildcats within one, but that would be the closest they would get to tasting victory in game one. The Wolves never looked back after scoring four consecutive points at 15-12, giving them a 19-12 advantage. Stritch held their lead for the remainder of the game and won by the score of 30-24.
In the second set of the match, Johnson & Wales made it known that they were not about to lie down to the Wolves. The Wildcats and Wolves fought back and forth, hoping to make a run of points and obtain a decent lead. Neither team was able to achieve this until Scott Golden (Vernon Hills, Ill.) put down two consecutive kills to give Stritch a 15-11 lead. Four points would be the greatest lead that Stritch would hold on to until Johnson and Wales made their comeback. The Wildcats overcame their four point deficit to bring the game to a tie at 20-20. Numerous attack errors by the Wolves gave the Wildcats a late game advantage of three points that they would make use of. With Johnson and Wales holding their ground, the Wolves were unable to make a push and took their first loss of the day by the score of 27-30.
Three service aces by Golden Scott and three kills by Matt Tauaese (Ponoma, Calif.) projected the Wolves to an astonishing 14-3 lead in the third set. Three more service aces from Matt Tauaese granted the Wolves a comfortable 19-5 lead. With the Wolves in complete control of game three, Stritch would end up cruising to a 30-16 victory to go up two games to one.
Perhaps game three provided to Wolves with more comfort than they anticipated. In the fourth set, the tables quickly turned around as the Wolves found themselves down 4-12 due to a copious amount of attack and service errors. The momentum carried for Johnson and Wales as they maintained a lead of five points by the score of 20-25. The Wolves mounted a short comeback, bringing the deficit to within three points at 23-26. However, the Wildcats refused to give up the lead and took their second victory by the score of 26-30.
The fifth and final game quickly turned in favor of the Wolves after building a 9-3 lead from Johnson and Wales’ five attacking errors. With six points left for the Wolves to take a match victory, Austin Cass came through in the clutch and delivered four kills to drive the Wolves to a 15-11 victory.
Garrett Payne (San Diego, Calif.) served up 64 assists and two kills for the Wolves, while Scott Golden had an impressive .615 hitting percentage with 18 kills and only two hitting errors. Austin Cass led all hitters with 22 kills on 35 attempts.
The second match of the day turned out to be quite different than the first. Facing Holy Names University, the Wolves dominated throughout the match and ended up with a 3-0 match victory.
The first game of the match set the tone for what was to come in the remaining games. Back and forth side outs led to a 4-4 tie before the Wolves came to life. Matt Tauaese and George Ghassan (Naperville, Ill.) lifted the Wolves’ offense to a 10-7 three point lead. Under the direction of the setter Alo Tauaese (Ponoma, Calif.), the Wolves remained focused and looked to increase their lead to put the game out of reach. With the help of Dan Vick (Wauwatosa, Wis.) on the outside and Adam Cosson (West Allis, Wis.) on the opposite side, the Wolves were able to make the run they were looking for. After generating a 27-16 lead, the Wolves would end up finishing the game to win by a score of 30-19.
In the second set, the Wolves were able to build a 5-2 lead after a kill by Adam Cosson. Mr. Cosson wasn’t done making an early impact as he served two consecutive aces for an 8-3 lead. Unfortunately, Stritch brought Holy Names back into the game by committing three service errors and one attack error, bringing the lead down to two at 12-10. Consistent play out of the middle blocker position by Fernando Bernal and George Ghassan facilitated a run by the Wolves to create some breathing room, going up 27-19. The second game would end in favor of the Wolves by a score of 30-24.
The final set of the match was a tightly contested one that involved back and forth scoring from both teams. Alo Tauaese spread the ball around to all of his offensive players, looking for someone to take charge to finish out the game. With the offense unable to execute due to hitting errors, the Wolves found themselves down three points by the score of 14-17.
The score continued to fluctuate as a result of sloppy play by both teams. It wasn’t until a kill by Matt Tauaese did the Wolves finally find themselves in the lead at 23-22. The lead, however, did not last as Holy Names went ahead 23-24 with an attack error from Adam Cosson. It was evident that Holy Names simply could not hold on in the pressure situation when they committed two service errors and three attack errors that gave Stritch all the help they would need to cease the game by the score of 30-26.
Alo Tauaese finished the match with 40 assists, while his brother Matt led the team in kills with 14. George Ghassan led all middle hitters with seven kills and only one attack error. Brendan McDevitt (Chicago, Ill.) held down the defensive with a team high nine digs.
The wins on Saturday now push the Wolves to 22-6 overall. They will take to the court again on California Baptist University on Tuesday, Mar. 30 in Riverside, Calif.