NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Duhawks.com) - In its final road match of the 2017 campaign, the Loras men's volleyball team fell to North Central on Friday night in three, (25-19, 29-27, 25-23). Sophomore
Leo Peters delivered his second outstanding performance in a week's time, hammering nine kills on 11 attempts for an .818 attack percentage.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set One
- The Cardinals secured the first significant lead of the evening, running off three-straight points with the sides deadlocked at 6-all to take a 9-6 advantage.
- A North Central kill and subsequent service ace prompted a timeout from head coach Jeremy Thornburg, with the Duhawks trailing, 21-17.
- With this margin in hand, the Cardinals downed Loras in the opening frame, 25-19.
Set Two
- Two early blocks and a kill from sophomore Austin Kuchenbecker to open the second set helped the Duhawks get out to a 6-3 lead, forcing a North Central timeout.
- Trailing 12-9, the Cardinals used two Loras errors and a kill to even the score at 12-all midway through the second set.
- Clinging to a one-point advantage, an ace from Peters and a kill from Kuchenbecker resulted in a second North Central timeout with Loras leading 19-16.
- A resilient Cardinal side chipped away at the deficit and used a 6-2 run to take back control of set two with a 22-21 lead.
- Both sides were deadlocked at 27-all in an exciting second frame, but North Central claimed victory in extra volleyball with two-consecutive tallies to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Set Three
- Even at 5-all, a controversial call sparked a three-point run from the Cardinals, staking them to an 8-5 advantage.
- With North Central leading 17-13, the Duhawks used their first timeout of the set effectively, ripping off four-straight tallies after the break in action to even up the frame.
- Loras led 23-22, but a Cardinal run of three-straight kills doomed the Duhawks in the third and final set, losing the frame by a 25-23 score and the match, 3-0.
NOTABLES
- Junior Dylan Ross registed his 500th career kill in set one and ran his season total to 201
- Peters had a career-high nine kills in the match
- Kuchenbecker tied his career-high with 10 kills and matched the program record for solo blocks in a match (3)
FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYER OF THE GAME
Leo Peters | The sophomore from Minneapolis continued his strong play since his return to the Loras lineup, posting a stat-line of nine kills and an .818 attack percentage, adding two total blocks and one service ace in three sets.
UP NEXT
Loras returns to Dubuque for its next match, squaring off with No. 7 Carthage on Friday March 31 at 7 p.m. inside the Athletic & Wellness Center. The Red Men are 17-1 this season and are the first team in the MCVL to clinch a postseason berth.
