Box Score
Fullerton, Calif. - The Cardinal Stritch University Wolves men's volleyball team lost their fourth straight match as they fall to the Hope International Royals in three sets by the scores of 19-24, 24-30, 34-36.
The first set of the match consisted of back and forth play by each team until the Royals made their first run of points after they committed an attack error to bring the Wolves within two points by the score of 13-15. The Royals then won six consecutive points, three of which came from service aces. The Wolves were unable to overcome the eight point deficit and lost the first set by the score of 19-30.
Much like the first set, the second set started out with the Wolves struggling to keep the score within reach. After going down six points at the score of 15-21, Scott Golden started off a seven point run by Stritch with an attack kill out of the middle. The Royals immediately reclaimed the lead as they scored four consecutive points to go up by three points at the score of 22-25. The Wolves would end up scoring only two more points before the Royals finished the game with a win by the score of 24-30.
A kill by George Ghassan (Naperville, Ill.) got the final set of the match started off right for the Wolves as they took an early one point lead. The Wolves would continue to build on their lead after a kill from Austin Cass (Madison, Wis.) and a block by George Ghassan gave the Wolves a 14-11 lead. The Wolves would maintain their three point lead until the Royals began their comeback to tie the game at the score of 27-27. From this point forward, both teams fought back and forth to try and finish the game with a win. Unfortunately, the Royals came out on top to sweep the Wolves in three sets.
The Wolves came away with 49 team kills. 20 less than they recorded the night before. Vladimir Frenc (Belgrade, Serbia) led the Wolves in kills with 11, followed closely by Austin Cass with 10, and Matt Tauaese (Ponoma, Calif.) and Scott Golden (Vernon Hills, Ill.) with nine kills each. The man providing the hitters with a ball to attack was Garrett Payne, who recorded 36 assists for the match.
Taking charge on defense was Vladimir Frenc with a team high 10 digs and Scott Golden with a team high seven total blocks.
Coming up next for the Wolves is the final home game and conclusion of the regular season as they face the Milwaukee School of Engineering on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.