SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (Duhawks.com) - The Loras men's volleyball opened the 2016 season on Friday with a split at the Lakeland Triangular. In their first match, the Duhawks were 3-0 winners over IIT, but tasted defeat against Lakeland by a 3-0 margin. Freshman
Greg Kinney made the most of his collegiate debut, finishing with a combined 13 kills, 13 digs, two service aces and one assisted block.
FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Jimmy Combs | Led the Duhawks in their win against IIT with four kills, five total blocks and hit .500. Combs now stands at a career attack percenteage of .231 and is third in Loras' all-time standings for kills.
Dylan Ross | Finished with five kills, one assisted block and hit .231 in the loss.
SOUNDBITES | Jeremy ThornburgUP NEXTLoras returns to the comforts of Lillis Court for their home opener next Friday against Division II Quincy. The Hawks lost to No. 6 Carthage on Friday night, 3-1. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
POST GAME NOTES
Loras vs. IIT - The Duhawks started off a bit slow, as IIT raced out to a 4-1 lead. Loras responded with a 6-3 run to level the first set at 7-all.
- From there, the Duhawks seized the advantage rolling off five straight points to take a comfortable 12-7 lead. Loras was able to maintain this cushion the rest of the way with the help of Dawid Kasprszak, who posted three kills in set one. Â
- Freshman Greg Kinney recorded the final point of the first set with an ace, handing the Duhawks a 25-19 win.
- In set two, the Duhawks jumped out an to an early lead to the tune of 8-4 after an Alfredo Lopez service ace. Â
- Loras continued to stretch their lead in the second frame as they took an 18-7 lead after a Jimmy Combs kill.
- Following a few unforced IIT errors, the Duhawks came away with set two, 25-10.
- Set three featured a new lineup from Head Coach Jeremy Thornburg and the Duhawks. Loras got off to another slow start and trailed the Scarlet Hawks 10-6 early on. Â
- The Scarlet Hawks maintained this lead up to the 19-14 point when Leo Peters tallied the first kill of his collegiate career.
- Loras continued to chip away at the IIT lead late in set three forcing a Scarlet Hawk timeout trailing 23-22.
- After the timeout, the Duhawks took control the rest of the way. Three consecutive Ryan Galvan kills put the bow on Loras first victory of 2016.
- Friday marked the first meeting between Loras and IIT.
- Loras' won on opening day for the first in program history after losing to Lindenwood-Belleville in 2015.
- Sophomore Shayne Marquez finished with 17 assists, five digs and one service ace.
- In his collegiate debut, freshman Ryan Galvan posted seven kills and a .357 attack percentage.
- Freshman Greg Kinney led the Duhawks with eight digs.
- Loras hit .471 as a team in set two, breaking a previous school record of .462, set on Feb. 20, 2015 against Trinity International.
Loras vs. Lakeland
- Set one featured even play at the jump from both sides after a service error from Lakeland's Matt Stolz found the Duhawks facing just a 9-7 deficit early.
- After that, the Muskies found their offensive rythm and increased their lead to 12-7 after a Stolz kill.
- Loras continued to trade points with Lakeland throughout the first set, but a Ryan Galvan attacking error gave the Muskies a 19-12 lead late in set one.
- The Duhawks continued to battle and finished set one on a 7-6 run, but the early Muskie lead proved too daunting. Lakeland cemented their set one victory after a Kyle Krogstad kill, 25-19.
- Set two featured more back and forth play in the early going as Loras knotted up the score at 7 after a Greg Kinney kill.
- After Kinney's kill, the Muskies were once again able to find success in the middle of the set using a 14-7 run to take a 21-14 advantage.
- The Duhawks mounted a late comeback, finishing set two on a 6-4 run, but ultimately fell 25-20 after a Kinney service error.
- Loras took an early lead 7-4 in set three thanks to a multiple Lakeland errors. The Duhawks could not maintain their advantage resulting in attacking errors that opened the door for Lakeland to charge back to level pegging.
- From that point, Lakeland increased their advantage to 17-13, prompting a Loras timeout.
- Following the timeout, the Duhawks came out aggressive and put the pressure on the Muskies, trailing 22-20, but Lakeland's resiliency prevailed, taking the final set, 25-20.
- This was the third all-time meeting between the Muskies and the Duhawks, with the Muskies coming out victorious in both meetings in 2015.The Duhawks will matchup with the Muskies two more times in 2016.
- With Friday's win, Lakeland extends their series lead to 3-0 over Loras.
- Although both teams compete in the MCVL, tonight's contest was considered a non-conference game.
