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

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Mar. 5, 2022) - Winning three straight at home last weekend after three straight weeks on the road, the No. 15/12 Loras College men's volleyball team (15-2, 4-1 CCIW) was back in enemy's territory on Saturday afternoon as they squared off against the top-ranked team in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) in the No. 4 North Central College Cardinals (11-1, 4-1 CCIW). The Duhawks kept close through three sets but the Cardinals walked away with the victory. 

Loras entered the match rolling on a six match win streak while the Cardinals were coming off of a highly competitive mid-week matchup over the reigning national champions in the No. 6 Carthage College Firebirds.

The Duhawks got on the board first in the first set on a Matt Nealon service error but the score tied right back up on a Loras service error. The score tied three more times before the Cardinals found themselves ahead by two at 8-6. Back-to-back kills by Jake Filotto and Tyler Kratochvil tied the game back up at eight a side before, again, the Cardinals took a two point advantage. North Central held on to their narrow lead through the middle of the set as the Duhawks held them close, trailing behind by no more than two before a Jared Moser service error for North Central, followed by an Andres Martinez kill tied the game again at 14-14. The Cardinals gained a three point edge at 18-15 but the Duhawks went on a 3-1 scoring run to close the game to just one point but the Cardinals held on to take the first set 25-21. 

Loras pulled ahead early in the first set with Martinez getting the momentum going with a kill that was followed by a North Central error before the run was cut short on a North Central kill. The Duhawks grabbed two more back on two straight kills from Martinez and Kratochvil to go up by three at 4-1 and held the lead through the middle of the set, going ahead by four at 14-10 as North Central's offensive woes came to a head. The Cardinals took the lead back as the Duhawks had their own set of troubles offensively as North Central outscored Loras 7-1 with five of the seven points coming from Duhawk errors. Loras right under North Central's nose in the closing moments of the set, staying within one until the Cardinals pulled away by enough to secure the  25-22 set win. 

Dorian Fiorenza put the Duhawks on the board first in the third set but North Central tallied three straight to take the lead back at 3-1. The lead was short-lived, however, as the Duhawks went on a 5-1 scoring run with Patrick Mahoney flooring a kill and an ace in the run while Corey Mayotte and Martinez added a kill apiece. The two sides trading blows in the middle part of the set, but the Duhawks held the lead at 13-11 on a Fiorenza kill and a Moser attacking error. North Central took the lead again the back half of the set, going up by two at 18-16 but back-to-back kills by Martinez and Michael Dziewior tied the game right back up. The score found itself tied nine more times as the set was forced into extra points to decide a winner, seeing North Central walk away with a 29-27 set victory to take the match 3-0. 

It was an evenly matched contest offensively, seeing both sides record 41 kills in the match, but the Cardinals' nine blocks proved to be a difference maker. Fiorenza led the match with 16 kills to his name while Martinez added seven and Mahoney with five. Mahoney floored the match's only ace while defensively, Kratochvil led the Duhawks with two blocks while Martinez had one. Setter David Beach tallied 32 assists in the match and helped on the defensive end with a match-leading eight digs, followed by Fiorenza and Cameron Menini who had five apiece. 

The Duhawks return to Lillis Court on Wednesday, Mar. 9 as they play host to the No. 6 Carthage College Firebirds in a CCIW matchup. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM in Dubuque, Iowa.