KENOSHA, Wis. (Duhawks.com) - Playing back-to-back matches against ranked opponents, the Loras men's volleyball team fell to No. 8 Carthage (25-16, 25-20, 25-15) and No. 12 Rivier (25-21, 23-25, 25-19, 25-22) on Saturday afternoon inside Tarble Arena. In the opening match versus Carthage, sophomore
Chris Paige posted double-digit digs for the fifth time this season, racking up 10 digs. Against Rivier, junior
Dylan Ross led the Duhawk attack with 12 kills and a .300 attack percentage in four sets.
MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDÂ
Carthage
Set One
- The Red Men got out to a fast start in the opening frame, scoring the first four tallies of the match.
- Carthage extended its advantage to 17-8 before a timeout from head coach Jeremy Thornburg.
- The Red Men saw the set through to the finish, taking set one, 25-16.
Set Two
- The Duhawks turned the tide to begin the second frame, using several Carthage errors to take a 5-3 lead, which was capped by a kill from sophomore Greg Kinney.
- Both teams traded points to the midway point of set two when the sophomore duo of Austin Kuchenbecker and Alfredo Lopez teamed up for a kill to prompt a timeout from the Red Men.
- After the break in action, Carthage used a 9-4 run to dispatch Loras in set two, 25-22.
Set Three
- The Red Men used their momentum from a competitive set two and raced out to a 9-3 lead in the final frame.
- With this lead in hand, Carthage cruised a set three victory, 25-15, sweeping the match, 3-0.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Rivier
Set One
- The Duhawks came out of the gates firing, using a Raider error and kills from sophomores Greg Kinney and Aaron Miller to take a 3-0 lead.
- Leading 12-10, Rivier ran off five-consecutive points to open the first significant margin of the frame at 17-10.
- Loras chipped away, eventually cutting it to two at 21-19 after a kill from Kinney, but that was as close as the Duhawks could come, falling, 25-21.
Set Two
- Loras started set two on the right foot with a 7-3 lead, thanks to back-to-back kills from sophomore Dylan Ross.
- Trailing 19-16, the Raiders ripped off a 5-1 run to take a one-point lead at 21-20, prompting a Duhawk timeout.
- With the score even at 23-all, the Duhawks finished off River in the second set with a Ross kill and a Raider error to even the match at one.
Set Three
- The Raiders took their turn at getting out to an early lead, taking a 9-5 lead to force a timeout by their counterparts.
- Loras couldn't find much of an offensive rhythm in the third set, falling by a final score of 25-19.
Set Four
- The Duhawks regained their stride to begin the fourth set, taking a 9-7 lead on a kill from sophomore Austin Kuchenbecker.
- Facing an 18-17 deficit, Rivier used a stretch of four-consecutive tallies to force a Loras timeout, at 20-18.
- The Duhawks leveled with a three-point run of their own, making the score 21-all late in the frame.
- A critical 4-1 run from the Raiders proved to be the difference in the set, as Rivier took set four, 25-22, and the match, 3-1.
NOTABLES
- Loras falls to 6-10 overall and 4-8 in the MCVL's Western Division and remains tied for fifth place with Fontbonne
- Ross moves to 449 career kills and is 42 away from tying his previous best in a season (187)
- Lopez needs three service aces to reach 50 for his career
- Sophomore Chris Paige recorded double-digit digs in both matches and passed the century mark for his career
FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYER OF THE GAME
Leo Peters | Peters, a sophomore from Minneapolis, Minn., earned his first Friedman Group honor of 2017, posting four kills at a .375 clip and adding two digs and one total block in three sets.
Dylan Ross | The junior from Oak Forest, Ill. continued his spectacular 2017 campaign in Purple & Gold, posting 12 kills, six digs and a .300 attack percentage to lead the Duhawks.
UP NEXT
Loras makes the short trip down Highway 151 to Cedar Rapids to take on the Mount Mercy Mustangs in non-conference action on Thursday night at 7 p.m.
