DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) – Searching for their first home win of the season and a sweep of a conference opponent, the Loras College Men's Volleyball team welcomed the Fontbonne Griffins to the Athletic & Wellness Center on Friday night. Despite career-high's by a trio of freshman and one of the strongest offensive performances of the season, the Duhawks fell  in straight sets (25-20, 25-21, 25-22).

Battling back and forth, the teams drew even at six early in the opening set until the Duhawks took control. Freshman Shayne Marquez served of the Las Vegas, Nevada connection to fellow freshman TJ Esporas sparking the Duhawks with a blistering kill.

With Marquez serving and three fierce hitters in the front row, the Griffins struggled reading the distribution of sets. The hesitation allowed freshmen Dylan Ross and Dawid Kasprzak to follow the lead of Esporas, with crushing kills.

Back-to-back blows by the freshmen put the Duhawks in front, 9-6, with all of the momentum.

As the Griffins battled back, the Duhawks stood tall, holding a 15-13 lead while hitting .451 on attack. Unfortunately for the Duhawks, the Griffins defensive play rose to the occasion, matching the strong play of their attack, stealing the momentum once held by the Duhawks.

Rattling off unanswered points, Fontbonne took a 17-15 lead before taking the set 25-20.

In the second set, the Duhawks battled back from an early deficit before four straight errors capped a 7-0 run in favor of the Griffins.

With Fontbonne in front 22-15, the Duhawks clawed their way back within three before falling 25-21.

After intermission, Loras returned to the court reenergized. Looking to force a fourth set, the Duhawks rallied around Kasprzak. Back-to-back-to-back kills by the Chicago, Illinois product pushed Loras to a 7-6 lead.

With momentum bouncing from one side to the other and the score level at 12, the Griffins used a 6-2 run to take the lead, 16-13.

Refusing to give up, the Duhawks fed off the energy of a kill by Kasprzak. Using the stellar play to their advantage, freshman Danny Krasich set senior Michael Kreiser on the outside. Reading the Griffins block, Kreiser slipped the ball past the arms of Fontbonne and down the line for a kill.

With the offense seeming to click, the Duhawks' defense stepped up. Back-to-back blocks by the Duhawks halted the Griffins attack. Ross teamed up with freshman Jimmy Combs to deny the attempted attack in the middle before Kreiser denied Fontbonne's outside, knotting the score at 16.

Following a miscue on the Duhawks block, Loras returned to work as Marquez continued to feed the hot hands on attack. Kills by Esporas, Ross, and Kasprzak brought the Duhawks with one, 23-22.

After a Fontbonne kill moved the match to match point, 24-22, head coach Jeremy Thornburg was forced to take a timeout.

Out of the pause in play, the Duhawks attack hit the ground on the wrong side of the net, ending the set 25-22, and the match 3-0.
 
Game Changer
Fontbonne closed the first set on a 7-3 run, taking control of the match with a 25-21 win … From that point on, the Duhawks could retain the momentum

Key Stat
Each team finished with 103 attacks … Unfortunately, the Griffins tallied three more kills (46-43) and three less errors (16-13) than the Duhawks allowing them to hold a .320-to-.262 edge in kill percentage

Notables

Quotable
Jeremy Thornburg, head coach
"I've been pushing Dawid all season, him clicking today was a huge step for us. We still haven't played a game with everyone clicking at once, but we're getting closer. We can't dwell on tonight's loss, we'll work through the errors we made tonight and come back ready to play Mount St. Joseph tomorrow."

Up Next
The Duhawks will look to bounce back from Friday's loss on Saturday when they play host to the Lions of Mount St. Joseph. In the first match up of the season, Loras fell 3-1 on the road. Saturday's match up will provide them with an opportunity to avenge the conference loss. First set is scheduled for 2 p.m. in the Athletic & Wellness Center.