SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (Duhawks.com) – After picking up their first two wins in program history on Friday, the Loras Men's Volleyball team lost two tough matches to Lakeland College and top-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology on Sunday.  Freshman TJ Esporas totaled 19 kills on 49 attacks for a hitting percentage of .388 on the day.

Loras started the day in a MCVL matchup with the host team of the triangular, Lakeland. The Duhawks' offensive attack picked up where they left off on Friday, as Esporas pounded a kill to make it 7-5 early in the first set.

Later, as Lakeland was threatening to pull away, an attacking error by Tim Robbins opened the door for freshman Dylan Ross to pound away an attack on the very next sequence to level the game at 11, forcing Lakeland to call a timeout.

The home team controlled much of the first set after that point. A service error by senior Michael Kreiser put the Duhawks in a three point hole, 15-12.

Freshman Kyle Zacok kept Loras within striking distance after hammering a kill into the Muskie defense made the score 18-15. However, a service error by freshman Dawid Kasprzak followed shortly after that and made the score 22-16.

Kyle Krogstad rifled an ace that clipped the backline to win the first set for the Muskies by a score of 25-19.

The second set had a much different tone than the first. With the purple and gold trailing, Zacok tallied a kill to cut the deficit to 9-7 but Lakeland would answer by going on a 6-0 run.

Matt Stolz fired an ace to make the score 18-8, forcing a Duhawk timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Muskies continued to pour it on before another service error by Loras mercifully ended the set, 25-10.

Lakeland could smell victory after a kill by Krogstad made the score 11-6 in the third set, but with their backs against the wall, Loras responded by scoring five unanswered points to tie the set at 11.

The Muskies continued to try and deliver the knockout blow to the Duhawks but following a service error by senior Jeremy Mark, Loras found themselves only down a point, 20-19.

With freshman Shayne Marquez serving, Loras began their run towards victory. After two Lakeland attacking errors, Marquez slipped an ace down the line to make the score 22-20 in favor of the Duhawks.

Kreiser put the exclamation point on the set, roasting a kill to win the third set, 25-20.

In the fourth set, the play was dictated by errors, with Loras finding themselves on the wrong side of many of them.

An Esporas ace and Kasprzak kill occurred on back-to-back plays, giving Loras an 8-7 lead. Kreiser slapped another kill to the hardwood to make the score 13-12 but Lakeland outscored the Duhawks 12-5 the rest of the way to win the match in four sets (25-19, 25-10, 20-25, 25-17).

Loras had no choice but to wipe the slate clean and look for the upset against Stevens Institute of Technology, the top ranked club in Division III men's volleyball.

Esporas attacked the Ducks defense right out of the gate, willing his attack to an open spot on the court but the Duhawks were behind on the scoreboard early in the first set, 8-3.

An ace by Kasprzak rallied Loras back to with three points but the freshman from Chicago came right back with a service error to mark the score at 12-8.

At 17-12, Stevens had a five-point edge when Thomas Wright came up short on his serve resulting in service error, awarding Loras what would be their last point of the set.

Stevens slammed the door shut on the first set with an 8-0 run to win, 25-13.

The Duhawks jumped in front 4-3 in the second set after a double hit by the Ducks senior setter Kevin Aeckerle but was immediately followed by a rumbling kill from Wright.

Later in the set, Combs utilized his length on a play at the net to cram a kill down on the Ducks, tying the score at 10.

Stevens answered by scoring five of the next six points to go up 15-11 after a miscue by Ross.

Freshman Danny Krasich got Combs involved once again by setting the Penfield, New York product up with another blistering kill for Loras. Trailing 19-17, the Duhawks knew they were within striking distance, but Stevens was quick to shut the door, finishing on a 6-2 run to win 25-19.

Third set action started with the thunder and lightning combination of Esporas and Marquez giving Loras a 4-3 edge. From there, it was all Stevens as the Ducks went on a 13-6 run to extend their lead to 17-9.

At 21-13, Loras fought back to 22-18 thanks to an attacking error by Stevens but the Ducks would close the match out eventually in a three set sweep (25-13, 25-19, 25-19).