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

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Mar. 26, 2022) - Receiving a No. 15 vote in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Assocation (AVCA) national poll, the Loras College men's volleyball team (20-5, 8-2 CCIW) made the trek to Milwaukee, Wis. to take on the St. Norbert College Green Knights (6-14, 2-8 NACC) and the Milwaukee School of Engingeering Raiders (14-7, 8-2 NACC) in a pair of non-conference contests. The Duhawks dominated St. Norbert in the first match of the game, winning in straight sets before falling to the Raiders in match two of the day. 

The Duhawks wasted no time running the score up on the Green Knights, starting the set by putting six straight on the board as Corey Mayotte and Andres Martinez floored kills while Joe Horn put down a pair of aces at the service line. In the middle of the set, the Duhawks jumped ahead by 11 at 16-5, outscoring St. Norbert 6-2 as the Green Knights' offense struggled, committing four errors in the run. Loras continued to dominate through the end of the set, closing out the game on a 4-1 scoring run as Patrick Mahoney slammed the door shut on the first set with a huge 25-10 set victory. 

Both sides traded scoring early in the second set as the score found itself tied five times before the Duhawks pulled away by four at 10-6 on a pair of kills from Jake Filotto, a Martinez kill and a St. Norbert hitting error. Loras held the lead through the middle of the set and took a seven point lead at 20-13, going on a 5-2 scoring run with four of the five points coming on St. Norbert errors. Filotto sealed the deal on the second set as the Duhawks scored four straight on a pair of service aces and a kill off the hand of Filotto to take the second set 25-15. 

In the third set, the Duhawks rode the momentum from the set prior and took a 5-0 lead from the jump on three straight kills and pair of St. Norbert errors. The Green Knights came back within four of the Duhawks in the middle of the set but a 4-1 run put the Duhawks back ahead by a comfortable seven points as Martinez and Mahoney notched a kill apiece in the run to bring the score to 15-8. The Duhawks continued to hold the lead through the end of the set as the Green Knights neglected to get anything going, giving the Duhawks a third set victory at 25-18 to win the match in straight sets. 

The Loras offense hit a solid .366 percent in the match, led by Filotto who floored nine of the Duhawks' 35 kills in in the match, followed by Martinez who had eight of his own. Horn excelled at the service line with three aces to his name while Filotto followed with a pair of his own with Mahoney flooring one. Defensively, Mahoney was a force at the net as the Duhawks put down 10 blocks in the match with Mahoney notching six total. 

In the second match of the day, the Duhawks met up with the host team, the MSOE Raiders. Loras took an early 4-1 lead in the first set as the Raiders' offense gave the Duhawks three of those points on errors while Dorian Fiorenza tallied a kill. The Duhawks pulled away by four at 6-2, scoring a pair on a Raiders service error and a Martinez ace. The teams battled in the middle of the set, seeing the score tie eight times before the Duhawks pulled away by three as the offense ignited, led by Mayotte who floored back-to-back kills while Fiorenza put down one of his own to bring the score to 18-15. MSOE stayed right with the Duhawks, though, coming back to tie the score at 19 a side before the Raiders' offense posted two kills in a row to take set number one 28-26. 

The second set saw MSOE take a four point lead from the get-go on three kills and a Loras error but the Duhawks pulled back within one at 6-5 on a David Beach service ace. The Raiders continued to hold the lead, pulling away by four at 9-5 but a Mahoney kill started a three point scoring run that saw Horn post a kill of his own while Mayotte put down an ace at the service line to bring the Duhawks back within one at 9-8. Moments later, the Duhawks went on another run, outscoring the Raiders 4-1 with Mayotte flooring back-to-back kills and Fiorenza putting down an ace at the service line to tie the score at 14-14. The score tied three more times near the end of the set but the Raiders squeezed by to take the second set with a final set score of 25-21. 

Both sides chipped away at each other in the early parts of the third set, tying the score four times before the Raiders took a two point lead at 6-4 but a Fiorenza kill followed by an ace by Horn and an MSOE error gave the Duhawks the lead at 7-6. The score tied five more times before the Raiders again prevailed on a pair of kills to take another two point lead at 13-11 in the middle of the set but the Duhawks stayed right under their nose, outscoring the foe 3-1 to come back within one at 17-16 as Martinez and Tyler Kratochvil floored a kill each in the run. MSOE pressed on and took a six point lead in the final moments of the set before Mayotte and Fiorenza notched two straight kills to attempt a late-game comeback but the Raiders held on to take the third set 25-20. 

Mayotte led the Duhawks' offensive efforts with 10 kills in the match while Fiorenza followed with seven and Mahoney with six. The Duhawks continued to dominate at the service line with seven aces in the match to the Raiders' three, led by Fiorenza who had three. Horn assisted on 27 of the Duhawks' 35 kills in the match at setter while Beach led the match with 12 digs. 

The Duhawks are back in action on Wednesday, Mar. 30 as they take on the No. 4 North Central College Cardinals in a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin matchup. First serve is scheule for 7:00 PM inside the Lillis Athletic and Wellness Center.