DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - The Loras men's volleyball team bid for an upset against No. 3 Carthage came inches short on Friday night, as the Duhawks fell in five to the Red Men. Blair Anderson totaled 21 digs, averaging 4.2 per set while Mihajlo Gomez rattled off 17 kills to lead the offensive attack.

PRESS CONFERENCE (Link)


MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Set One
- With Dylan Ross at the service line, the senior ripped off two aces and forced a Carthage timeout with Loras in front 7-2
- The Red Men fought their way back and cut the deficit to one at 18-17
- With Carthage in front 22-21, the Duhawks went on a 4-1 run, fueled by kills from Leo Peters and Joe Jendra
- Back-to-back errors by the Red Men handed Loras the first set, 25-23

Set Two
- A trio of Duhawk errors opened a 12-8 lead for Carthage
- The Red Men extended their lead to 16-9 before Loras cut it the lead to two at 22-20 after a kill by Mihajlo Gomez
- Carthage evened the match at one with three straight points

Set Three
- The Red Men conceded their early 11-9 lead with a 4-0 run by the Duhawks
- Both sides traded points until 23-all when Loras managed to execute on a kill by Jendra and force Carthage into an attack error to take the third set, 25-23

Set Four
- The Duhawks held their last lead of the set at 15-12 before a 5-0 run by the Red Men put them in control
- With a one-point lead at 20-19, Carthage put away the fourth set thanks to kills on three of the next four points

Set 5 
- After both sides traded the first eight points, Carthage tooks its first lead with a 4-1 run at 8-5
- The Duhawks cut the deficit to one after a 3-0 run at 12-11 that included a kill from Ross, attack error and service ace.
- Facing their third consecutive match point, the Red Men ended matters with a kill out of the middle, winning 15-13

NOTABLES
- Friday was the first match that Loras and Carthage went five sets in series history
- Blair Anderson broke the school record with 21 digs … The previous record of 18 was shared by Anderson and Greg Kinney, both of whom set it against Illinois Tech, albeit in different matches
- Gomez totaled 17 kills, good for sixth all-time in school history … Gomez set season-highs in kills, attack percentage (.282), digs (14) and blocks (3)
- Jendra moved to within seven kills of 100 for the season, finishing with 12
- Peters needs two blocks to reach 100 for his career

FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYER OF THE GAME - Blair Anderson
- The Duhawk libero became the third player this season to record 20-plus digs in an MCVL contest … Anderson's performance set a school record and brought his career total to 532 … He is closing in on his single-season best total of 205, set in the program's inaugural season

UP NEXT
Loras returns to the court on Saturday for a 3 p.m. first serve against North Central. The Cardinals won in three on Friday night against Augustana. Prior to the match, the Duhawks will honor the eight members of their senior class.