Contact: Nathan Cameron, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7243

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. (Mar. 2, 2021) - The Loras College men's volleyball team (3-3, 2-2 CCIW) was on the road Tuesday night as they faced the Augustana College Vikings (5-3, 4-1 CCIW) in a hard fought College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin bout. The Duhawks forced the second set into extra points to claim the set victory, but were edged by the Vikings in four sets (20-25, 29-27, 17-25, 23-25) in a highly competitive match on the road. 

Set number one saw the Vikings strike first but a point in the Duhawks' favor immediately followed on a Justin Murphy service error. After Augustana scored three straight, a kill from junior Patrick Mahoney jump started the steady attack for the Duhawks. In the middle of the set, Loras found themselves down by seven, but Dorian Fiorenza brought the fire back to the Duhawks on a kill assisted by Joe Horn. The kill put Fiorenza at the service line and he immediately recorded a service ace on Augustana's Max Sellers. A bad set by Sanchit Khaitan rounded out the run but a service error gave Augustana the serve once more. The Vikings didn't have the serve long, as Mahoney continued to carry the momentum started by Fiorenza a few plays prior, starting another three point run for the Duhawks on a kill immediately followed by a service ace again on Augustana's Sellers. Jake Filotto notched the third point of the run to bring the Duhawks within two but the Vikings prevailed to take the first set. 

Fiorenza kicked off the second set reorded back to back points for Loras on a kill and a service ace to put the Duhawks up by two from the get go. Back and forth scoring soon ensued between the two CCIW foes, seeing the score tie four times before Augustana took a 9-8 lead on Loras. The lead was short lived, as a Vikings service error and a Filotto kill put the Duhawks back in the lead at 10-9. Caleb Minnis immediately responded for Augustana but it only sparked the Duhawks' offense to score three straight, with Andres Martinez posting a kill followed by an Augustana attack error and a Horn service ace to put Loras up 13-10. The Duhawks held the lead until the Vikings pulled away after scoring five straight, but a service error and a Mahoney kill tied the set back at 18-18. The score tied seven more times at the end of the set but back to back attacking errors from Augustana gave the Duhawks the set win with a final score of 29-27. 

The early portion of the third set saw more of the hight level of competition from the set prior, with both teams trading blows until the Vikings went ahead by three. Mahoney ended the streak to put Fiorenza back at the service line for Loras, resulting in another point for the Duhawks on a bad set by Augustana's Justin Murphy. The Vikings held the lead through the middle of the set but the Duhawks kept fighting, scoring three straight to cut the deficit on a pair of attacking errors followed by yet another service ace on Augustana's Sellers, this time with David Beach on the serve. Despite the Duhawks' steady effort to chip away at the Vikings, Augustana took the set 25-17. 

Looking to force the match into five sets, Loras went into the fourth determined to come away with a set win. Much like the three sets prior, the early parts of the fourth saw the score remain close, with the lead changing twice and game tying three times before Augustana took a two point lead. A kill from the heavy hand of Tyler Kratochvil started a three point run for Loras, followed by a Kevin Kessel service ace on Sellers. A Murphy attack error put the Duhawks up 8-7 before a service error tied the game back up. A pair of kills from Filotto and Mahoney put Loras back in the lead with a two point advantage approaching the middle of the set. With a 13-12 lead, the Duhawks scored four straight on two attack errors from Augustana and a kill from Filotto and a service ace from Beach, putting Loras up by five. The Vikings stayed with the Duhawks at the end of the set, tying the score three times before going ahead by three at 23-20. A service error from Augustana and a Horn service ace pulled Loras back within one. Again down by two at 24-22, another service error from Augustana put the Duhawks down by one point, but a kill from the Vikings ended the set 25-23 to end the match after four sets of play. 

Fiorenza led the attack for Loras, posting 15 kills on the night with with Filotto joining with 11 of his own. The Duhawks displayed impressive strength at the service line, recording eight aces in the match with Fiorenza, Horn and Beach each racking up two a piece while Mahoney and Kessel both had one on the night. Mahoney put down five blocks in the match, helped by Kratochvil who added four and Martinez who had two. 

The Duhawks are back at Lillis Court on Mar. 6 at 12:00 PM as they play host to Illinois Wesleyan University in a CCIW matchup. A reminder that per CCIW safety guidelines, no spectators are allowed at men's volleyball matches this season.