Contact:
Nathan Cameron, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7243
KENOSHA, Wis. (Apr. 2, 2022) - Coming off of a commanding victory over No. 6/6 North Central College in a mid-week matchup, the RV/No. 16 Loras College men's volleyball team (21-6, 9-3 CCIW) wrapped up regular season action in Kenosha, Wis. as they squared off against the No. 3/2 Carthage College Firebirds (18-3, 12-0 CCIW). A second set victory saw the Duhawks force the match into four sets, but the Firebirds took the match, seeing the Duhawks end the season tied for second in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) standings.
The match got underway with the Firebirds striking first, flooring three straight kills before the Duhawks cashed in on a Carthage error that was followed by a
Corey Mayotte service ace and a kill from
Joe Horn to tie the game back at three a side. The score tied three more times before the Firebirds took advantage of a pair of Loras errors and a Zach Bulthuis kill to jump ahead by three at 9-6. The Duhawks stayed close through the middle of the set and gained the lead at 17-15 after going on a 6-1 scoring run that featured a kill and an ace for Horn and a kill off the swing of
Dorian Fiorenza. At the end of the set, the Duhawks held a two-point lead at 20-18 but offensive struggles saw the Firebirds squeeze by with a 25-21 set victory.
Both sides battled early in the second set but the Duhawks gained a two-point edge at 6-4 on a Carthage attacking error followed by a Fiorenza kill. The score tied eight times through the middle portion of the set before back-to-back Firebird kills saw Carthage jump ahead by two at 16-14. The lead didn't last long, though, as the Duhawks went on to score four straight on a pair of Carthage errors that were followed by a Mayotte kill and a service ace from
David Beach to bring the score to 19-17. With the score tied again near the end of the set at 21-21, the Duhawks went on to outscore the Firebirds 4-2 to take the second set 25-23.
With the set score tied at one a side, the Duhawks looked to ride the momentum of the second set victory into the third. Carthage scored first on a Loras error but the Duhawks came right back with a kill from Mayotte and a Carthage attacking error to take at 2-1 lead early. That proved to be the last time the Duhawks would hold a lead in the set, however, as Carthage's offense caught fire, going on a 10-1 scoring run to go ahead 11-3. The Firebirds held the lead through the end of the set, but the Duhawks stayed in the fight, making a late-game push and outscoring Carthage 7-4 at the end of the set, seeing
Patrick Mahoney,
Tyler Kratochvil, Mayotte and Fiorenza floor kills in the run but the Firebirds held on to their lead to take the set 25-16.
Carthage took the lead early in the fourth set of the match, going ahead by four at 8-4 before the Duhawks fought back to come back within two at 10-8 as both sides traded blows. In the middle of the set, the Firebirds jumped ahead by eight a 18-10 after scoring six straight and held on to the lead through the end of the set, taking the match in four with a final set score of 25-17.
The Loras offense was led by Mayotte, who floored 10 kills in the match with Fiorenza posting nine and Mahoney following with six. The Duhawks floored four aces in the match with Beach, Fiorenza, Horn and Mayotte each putting one down. Defensively, Mahoney recorded four total blocks in the middle, joined by Kratochvil who notched a pair of blocks while Beach led the Duhawks with eight digs in the match. Horn assisted on 30 of the Duahwks' 36 kills in the match at setter.
The Duhawks turn their attention to the postseason as they're set to travel to Naperville, Ill. to face off against North Central College for the second time in a seven day span in the CCIW Tournament Semifinals. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, Apr. 6.
