Men’s Volleyball goes 2-1 in season-opening weekend

Calumet College's Men's Volleyball team traveled to Michigan on Friday for their first games of the season, this would also be the program's first volleyball game since 2018.

The Crimson Wave had 3 games scheduled for the weekend and the first up was Olivet College in Olivet, Michigan on Friday evening. With only 6 players for the weekend, the Crimson Wave took on the Comets for their season opener and were ready to prove themselves. CCSJ started off the first set strong, winning 25-19 with 16 total kills and only 3 errors. In set 2, the Crimson Wave held the Comets to their lowest score of the day and won the set 25-16 with 14 kills and just 2 errors. The 3rd set was closer for the Crimson Wave who had 9 errors, but their 15 kills gave them the opportunity to finish with a win of 25-23 over Olivet and secure their 1st win of the season. Pedro Castillo led the team with 19 kills and scored a total of 20 points, Jacob Moen had 41 assists, and Gianluca Righetto had 10 digs. 

Saturday, CCSJ competed at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan in a tri-meet with Mount Vernon Nazarene University. The first match of the day was against MVNU, who would be a tough opponent for CCSJ. The Crimson Wave played a good first set, but came up just short against the Cougars, losing 25-22 with 12 kills and 3 errors. The second set was tougher for CCSJ, with 6 errors the Cougars got ahead and the Crimson Wave weren't able to come back, even with their 13 kills, CCSJ lost 25-21. The 3rd set was close for the Crimson Wave, with 10 kills and 7 errors, CCSJ was behind MVNU but the Crimson Wave forced the Cougars into 9 errors during this set. With those efforts, CCSJ was able to make it a close set, but MVNU took the win 26-24 to win 3-0 over the Wave. Pedro Castillo led the Crimson Wave with 14 kills for a total of 16 points, Jacob Moen had 30 assists, and Gustavo Medina had 10 digs.

In their final match of the weekend, the Crimson Wave played Cornerstone University who were another tough opponent for the day. CCSJ started off with a dominant set over the Golden Eagles, with 15 kills and just 4 errors the Crimson Wave won the 1st set 25-16. The 2nd set was a tough one for CCSJ, but they held off Cornerstone with their 16 kills and only 5 errors to win the set 26-24. In the 3rd set, the Crimson Wave again had to fight to maintain control and their lead over the Golden Eagles, but after 14 kills and forcing 9 errors on the other side of the net, the Crimson Wave won the set 28-26 and won the match 3-0 for their second win of the weekend. Pedro Castillo led the Crimson Wave with 21 kills for a total of 24.5 points, Jacob Moen had 37 assists, and Gustavo Medina had 11 digs. 

The Men's Volleyball team's next match is at Cardinal Stritch University on Thursday evening and their first home match is Saturday, January 29th against Cumberland University.