DUBUQUE, Iowa — Cal Lutheran men's volleyball has a date with destiny as the Kingsmen reverse swept defending champion Stevens Ducks 3-2 on Friday night. Scores of the match were 20-25, 16-25, 25-22, 25-23, 16-14.
The Kingsmen are 5-0 in five-set matches as they advance to the national championship match. They improved to 26-5, winning their seventh straight match, and second five-set match. They will play for the Division III National Championship on Sunday at 2 pm CT (12 pm PT) against the winner of Vassar College and New York University.
Jordan Cooper and Michael Stahl led the way with 24 and 23 kills, respectively. Ben Weber added seven kills and Parker Brown and Borys Horiuk and Parker Brown had three each.
Taylor Marks orchestrated the offense with a season and career-high 55 assists. Cooper had two aces, including the final ace to clinch a berth in the NCAA Championship.
Logan Marks led the defense with 17 digs. Four more Kingsmen had five-plus digs as Stahl had nine, Weber added eight, Cooper had seven, and T. Marks had six. The Kingsmen recorded six solo blocks as Brown, Stahl, and Weber each had two.
The Kingsmen were down 0-2 after losing the first set 20-25 and the second 16-25. The Kingsmen flipped the script after that. With set three tied at 7-7. The Kingsmen scored three straight to take the lead. Cooper had a kill and Stahl added a block. It was close the rest of the way, with the Kingsmen holding the slight edge, as they got on the board with a score of 25-22.
With set four tied at 3-3, the Kingsmen rattled off five straight points to take a commanding lead. Weber was rolling with three kills in the run. Stevens eventually fired back and went up 18-16. The set went back and forth as the Kingsmen answered with five straight to take a 21-18 advantage. The Ducks continued to battle but Cooper tied the match with a kill, as the Kingsmen took the fourth set 25-23.
The Kingsmen looked down and out in the fifth as the Ducks went up 10-6. After a timeout, the Kingsmen came out with grit and calmness. They scored five straight to take an 11-10 lead. Stahl had a kill and Cooper had back-to-back kills to cap off the run. The lead continued to change as the Ducks went up 14-13. The Kingsmen answered the call, just like they did before. After a service error from Stevens, the Kingsmen took the lead after a solo block from Horiuk. Cooper then put the finishing touches on the match as he served an ace for the win.
The Kingsmen play for the national championship on Sunday at 2 pm CT.
