ALL TIME VS NORTH CENTRAL
North Central is 1-0 all-time against Loras, with the first meeting coming earlier this season in Naperville, Ill.

LAST TIME VS NORTH CENTRAL
In their first ever meeting with North Central, the Duhawks were on the losing end of a five-set thriller with the Cardinals back on Jan. 24, 2016. In what was North Central's first contest in school history, both teams alternated set victories until the Cardinals claimed the match in the fifth set (25-19, 22-25, 25-22, 23-25, 8-15). Freshman Jake Braceros paced North Central's play, leading the Cardinals with 21 kills and 13 digs. For Loras, sophomore Dylan Ross posted a team-high 11 kills and four service aces, hitting .348 on the day.  The freshman combo of Ryan Galvan and Greg Kinney each added 9 kills in this non-conference matchup.

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
North Central (2-7, 1-1) has had a very up-and-down season thus far in 2016, as is to be expected with a first-year program. In their first two matches in MCVL play, the Cardinals came up with an upset victory in five sets versus No. 12 Dominican University, but dropped their most recent contest against Benedictine in straight sets. Offensively, North Central is led by a trio of freshman, Jacob Zemba (69 K), Max Lawrence (63 K) and Jake Braceros (56 K), whom have been largely responsible for the Cardinals' offensive firepower. On defense, they have tallied 23 blocks in two conference matches, which ranks second overall in the MCVL.     

KINNEY A MAJOR KEY  
Freshman Greg Kinney is making a major contribution so far this season for the Duhawks in all facets of the game. The Las Vegas, Nev. Native leads the team in kills, recording 90 so far this season. His average of 2.25 kills per set is first on the team and ranks 20th overall in the MCVL. Defensively, Kinney also leads the team in digs with 65, an average of 1.63 per set.  

LEANING ON LOPEZ
Freshman Alfredo Lopez continued his great play this past weekend against Benedictine and Dominican University. Lopez is tied with sophomore Dylan Ross after with 15 service aces, which lead the team and rank fourth in the MCVL. In his first season with the Duhawks, Lopez has managed to become an integral piece of the offense, totaling 42 kills in his first 11 matches. Against Benedictine, Lopez finished with a season-high in kills, posting 11 at a .391 clip.  

KNACK AT THE NET
Heading into this week's match against North Central, the Loras men's volleyball team has worked hard in the trenches to protect the net. After last weekend's round of matches, the Duhawks now have 89 total team blocks, averaging 2.16 blocks per set. Seventeen of which have been solo blocks while they have also combined for 143 assisted blocks. Loras currently ranks fourth in the MCVL in total blocks and sixth in blocks per set.

KUCHENBECKER KILLS WEEKEND COMPETITION
Against MCVL opponents Benedictine and Dominican last weekend, freshman middle hitter Austin Kuchenbecker played the best volleyball of his young career. Kuchenbecker recorded playing time in each of the teams seven sets, tallying a total of 11 kills through two matches. Against Dominican, Kuchenbecker recorded his highest attacking percentage of the season at .833 on six attempts, while recording four blocks and one dig, defensively.