Box Score
Fort Wayne, Ind. - The Cardinal Stritch University Wolves men’s volleyball team played an aggressive, but disappointing match Friday night, losing to the Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne Mastodons (IPFW) in four games by scores of 30-27, 24-30, 30-20 and 30-17.
In a match against a highly respected National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I opponent, the Wolves were able to hold their own in the first two games of the four-game match. Starting off strong, the last lead the Wolves would hold in the first game came from Vladimir Frenc (Belgrade, Serbia) as his strong attack from the weak side gave the Wolves a 7-6 advantage.
After the host Mastodons went on a scoring binge, the Wolves were unable to offset the 17-12 deficit the Mastodons had created for them, handing Stritch a 30-27 loss in game one.
The Wolves were able to bounce back in game two with aggressive attacking and smart defense, forcing the Mastodons to commit numerous attack errors. Matthew Tauaese (Pomona, Calif.) and Fernando Bernal (Miami, Fla.) helped the Wolves’ cause by scoring four points each with their deadly accurate jump serves, forcing IPFW’s receiving core to make perfect passes.
Austin Cass (Madison, Wis.) and Scott Golden (Vernon Hills, Ill.) finished game two with two kills each to seal a 1-1 split going into game three.
The overmatched Wolves quickly found themselves in a huge hole of 14-6 in game three, a hole they would never be able to climb out of. The Wolves ended up losing game three, despite a valiant 10 assist effort by Garrett Payne (San Diego, Calif.) to keep the offense in sync.
The final game of the match began much like the last game with the persistent play of IPFW’s Darryl Shank (Ontario, Canada) giving the Mastodons a 6-0 lead. Unfortunately, the Wolves were unable to overcome the attacking errors by the offense and the lack of a consistent blocking defense to knock off the NCAA Division I foes.
However, the Wolves proved once again that they would not lay down for a stronger opponent regardless of the circumstance. The Wolves’ efforts brought them within five points at 12-17, but they were unable to hold on. The Mastodons carried the rest of the game to a 30-17 victory, giving IPFW a 3-1 match win.
The Wolves will take their hard-fought experiences with them to the Wolves Field House of Cardinal Stritch University where they will face St. Ambrose University on March 11 in an important conference matchup. Thursday’s match against SAU will start at 7 p.m.