DUBUQUE, Iowa — Cal Lutheran men's volleyball is dancing to the Final Four!
The Kingsmen and the Loras College Duhawks played an instant classic as the Kingsmen prevailed 3-2 to advance to the NCAA Division III Championship Final Four on Saturday night. Scores of the match were 25-17, 25-22, 20-25, 23-25, 15-13.
The Kingsmen were in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, winning their Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight matches.
Kingsmen Jordan Cooper, Taylor Marks, and Michael Stahl were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Stahl led the way with 21 kills while hitting .436. He made it a double-double and added a match-high 15 digs. Cooper was next with 15 kills and Ben Weber had 13. T. Marks kept the offense moving with 54 assists and recorded a double-double with 11 digs. Logan Marks had 11 digs and Borys Horiuk and Matthew Wilcox had six kills each.
The Kingsmen came out swinging in the first set and took an early lead. With the score tied at 4-4, the Kingsmen scored the next five points capped off by back-to-back kills from Horiuk. They kept the points coming and were up 15-9 at the media break. Six different Kingsmen had a kill as they ran away with the first set 25-17.
The second set went back and forth and the score was tied eight times including 10-10. The Kingsmen got a little breathing room at 13-11 after a kill and ace from Cooper. It was tied three more times before the Kingsmen had a 15-14 lead at the media break. The ties continued with five more as Loras called a timeout with Cal Lutheran up 21-20. Weber got the Kingsmen closer as a kill made it 23-21 and Stahl ended the second set with a kill at 25-22.
The third set started exactly like the second and there were 12 ties with Loras up 15-13 at the break. The Duhawks took the third set 25-20 and got on the board. Set four continued the trend with 11 ties and the Duhawks up 15-13 at the break. The Duhawks took the fourth set 25-23 and forced a fifth set.
In the fifth, the Duhawks jumped out to an early 4-1 lead. The Kingsmen quickly fired back and tied it at 4-4. It was tied three more times before the Duhawks took an 8-7 lead. The Kingsmen came out on fire and Weber hit back-to-back kills for the 9-8 lead. The Kingsmen got breathing room and Loas called a timeout as a block by Matthew Wilcox and Stahl made it 10-8. The match was brought back to a tie, just like it had all match, this time at 12-12. The match was ended 15-13 after an error from the Duhawks.
The Kingsmen will return to Loras College as the Duhawks will host the Final Four and championship matches starting on Friday..
