The Aurora University men's volleyball team soared past the visiting Concordia University Wisconsin Falcons in the opening round of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament, defeating the Falcons 3-1.


MATCH SCORE: Aurora University 3, Concordia University Wisconsin 1 (21-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-20)
LOCATION: Lancaster Court in Thornton Gymnasium - Aurora, Illinois
RECORDS: Aurora University 17-9 overall and 9-3 in the NACC


- The opening set was closely played early and tied at 12-12.
- A 5-0 CUW run making the score 17-12 proved to be the difference as AU fell in the opening set 25-21.
- The second set saw the Spartans awaken and jump out early to a 7-2 lead fueled by a pair of Thomas Kovanic aces.
- With the lead down to one at 9-8, the Spartans took advantage of numerous Falcons hitting errors soaring out of bounds.
- Thomas Kovanic fueled the offense with five kills in the 25-15 set win.
- The third set played out early just like the first set with the teams trading points.
- With the score tied 14-14, a 7-1 AU run with more Falcon errors and kills from James Karwin, Gunner Rodarte, Kovanic and John McCormack put AU up 21-15.
- A huge triple block in the middle of the run from Karwin, Kovanic and McCormack helped swing the momentum AU's way.
- The Spartans would win the third set 25-19 and took a 2-1 set lead.
- AU opened the fourth set with a 6-1 lead behind three McCormack kills.
- Three points is the smallest lead the Spartans would have as they would win 25-20.
- AU was victorious, winning 3-1.


Kills: Thomas Kovanic (11), John McCormack (10) and Austin Bayner (9)
Assists: James Karwin (38)
Aces: Thomas Kovanic (2)
Blocks: John McCormack (6)
Digs: Alex Nonhof (16)


Next action for the Spartan men's volleyball team comes on Thursday, April 7 when they travel to Benedictine University for the semi-final round of the NACC Tournament. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. in Lisle, Illinois.
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