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

Mar. 30, 2022 - Returning home to the Lillis Athletic and Wellness Center after a pair of road matches on the road last weekend, the RV/No. 16 Loras College men's volleyball team (21-5, 9-2 CCIW) played host to the No. 6/6 North Central College Cardinals (17-3, 8-3 CCIW) in their final home match of the season. The Duhawks were catapulted to a four set victory over the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) rival behind a stellar defensive showing by a senior middle blocker duo of Patrick Mahoney and Andres Martinez, who combined for nine total blocks in the match. 

North Central got on the board first on a Jared Moser kill and a Loras attacking error but the Duhawks came right back, taking advantage of three straight Cardinals errors to take the lead at 5-4. Through the middle of the set, the Cardinals grabbed the lead back but didn't get far as the Duhawks held tight and tied the match back at 12-12 after going on a 5-2 scoring run that saw Dorian Fiorenza floor two kills while Corey Mayotte and Mahoney added one each. With the at 17-16 in favor of the Cardinals, the Duhawks went on to score five straight as Joe Horn floored a kill to bring him to the service line where he immediately followed with an ace while Mahoney added another kill to his stats to jump ahead 21-17 late in the set. Both sides battled in the final moments of the match but back-to-back kills by Fiorenza and Horn secured the 27-25 set victory for the Duhawks. 

In the second set, the Cardinals gained a 7-4 lead early but Fiorenza ignited the Duhawks' offense that went on to outscore the foe 8-2 in the middle of the set, seeing Fiorenza floor a pair of kills and an ace  in the run while Mayotte, Mahoney and Tyler Kratochvil added one apiece to bring the score to 13-11 in favor of the Duhawks. As had been the story in the set prior, both sides battled through the end of the set with the score tying seven times at the end of the game before two straight Loras errors closed out the set to give the Cardinals their lone set win of the night at 28-26. 

The Cardinals gave the Duhawks a free point to start off the third set on a Moser error before Fiorenza put down an ace and a kill to give Loras an immediate 3-0 advantage. North Central came back to tie the score back at three a side but it proved to be the last time the Cardinals posed a threat as the Duhawks pulled away again at 6-3 on a Mahoney ace and two North Central kills. The Duhawks held the lead through the remainder of the set from that point on, gaining an eight point lead in the latter portion of the set on a pair of North Central errors and a Horn kill to bring the score to 21-13. North Central attempted a late-game push, responding with a four point run of their own but the Duhawks went on to clsoe out the set on a 4-2 scoring run that featured kills from Mayotte and Mahoney to give the Duhawks their second set victory of the match at 25-19. 

Both sides grinded early in the fourth set as the score tied seven times before the Duhawks pulled away at 12-10 in the middle of the set, outscoring the Cardinals 5-1 with four of the five points coming on kills from Mahoney, Mayotte and Fiorenza. The score tied twice more soon thereafter but Kratochvil kicked off a four point scoring run with a kill that was followed by a pair of North Central errors and a kill from the hand of Horn to gain a 17-13 edge. The Duhawks were too much for the Cardinals to handle at the end of the set, outscoring them 6-1 with the match closing out on a statement-maker of a service ace from Fiorenza to take the set by the largest margin of victory of the night at 25-17 to give the Duhawks the 3-1 win. 

The Duhawks' offense hit .279 percent in the match, dominating the Cardinals in set number four with a dominant .519 hitting percentage to the Cardinals' .115 percentage. The Loras offense floored 54 kills in the match, led by freshman hitter Mayotte who had 15 while Mahoney added 11. Fiorenza had 10 kills in the match and dominated at the service line with a match-leading three aces, followed by Mahoney who had two while Mayotte and Horn added one apiece. Defensively, the Duhawks had 10 blocks in the match, anchored by Mahoney who had five total blocks while joined by Martinez who added four. At setter, Horn assisted on 45 kills while David Beach led the Duhawks in digs with 12. 

The regular season comes to a close for the Duhawks on Saturday, Apr. 2 as they travel to Kenosha, Wis. to take on the No. 3/2 Carthage College Firebirds. The match is scheduled to begin at 3:00 PM inside Tarble Arena.