ALTOONA, Pa. (Duhawks.com) - The Loras men's volleyball team concluded its spring trip on Wednesday night against Penn State Altoona, falling in three sets. Sophomore
Jimmy Combs and freshmen
Austin Kuchenbecker and
Greg Kinney each recorded eight kills to lead the Duhawk offense. Sophomore
Dylan Ross set the program record for kills in a season and now sits at 179 with two matches remaining.
LORAS HIGHLIGHTS - The Duhawks found themselves in an early hole, trailing 6-3 despite a block after a long rally from freshman Ryan Galvan and Combs.
- With Ross at the service line, Loras chipped into the Penn State Altoona lead, using a kill from Kinney followed by a Ross service ace to cut the deficit to 8-7.
- Galvan gave the Duhawks their first lead of the frame after a kill down the line, which made the score 12-11.
- A block from Combs increased the Loras lead to 13-11, prompting a timeout from the Nittany Lions.
- After the break in action, Penn State Altoona regained the advantage, using a 4-0 run to take a 15-11 lead.
- The Lions edged in front of the Duhawks using a 8-4 run to take the 23-19 advantage.
- After trading points with the Lions, a service error from Loras ended the set with Penn State Altoona taking the frame by a score of 25-21.
- With three kills in the first set, Ross became the record holder for kills in a season, breaking TJ Esporas record from 2015.
- The second set began with neither team able to create a substantial lead, as a kill from Combs tied the score at 4-all.
- Loras then took the lead at the 5-4 mark following a block from Galvan after another long rally.
- However, the Lions slowly built their momentum, taking an 11-8 lead, which forced a timeout from head coach Jeremy Thornburg.
- Penn State Altoona continued to extend its lead following the break in the action, prompting a second timeout from the Duhawks.
- Loras used a 7-4 run of its own to force a Lion timeout at the 24-20 mark.
- After the timeout, Penn State Altoona finished the frame with a kill, winning by a 25-20 score and taking the 2-0 match lead.
- Loras took an early lead in set three as a block from freshman Aaron Miller gave the Duhawks a 6-5 lead.
- Both teams continued to jockey for position as the set progressed, but the Lions took the first significant lead at the 16-14 mark, resulting in a Loras timeout.
- The Duhawks cut the deficit to one after the break as a Combs kill made the score 20-19.
- Loras used a 4-1 run to bring the set level at 23-all, but a timeout from Penn State Altoona halted the Duhawk progress and reversed the momentum in favor of the Lions.
- Penn State Altoona closed out the third set and the match, scoring three of the final four points with a pair of kills.
- The Duhawks fell to 10-14 in 2016 while the Lions improved to 15-7.
FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYER OF THE GAME
Austin Kuchenbecker | The freshman converted on eight of his 15 attacks on Wednesday, finishing with a .400 attack percentage. Kuchenbecker added an assisted block and a dig in the loss.
UP NEXTLoras returns home for the final two games of the regular season on April 1 and 2 when Fontbonne and Greenville come to town.
