BEREA, Ohio (Jan 22, 2023) - The Loras College men's volleyball team earned a split on the final day of the Baldwin Wallace Invitational as it beat Hilbert College 3-0 in the first game before falling short to Baldwin Wallace University in four sets.
The (RV)/No.15 Duhawks (3-1) took care of business in the first of two games today. Senior
Dorian Fiorenza had a couple of big kills early to get the Duhawks rolling. Freshman
Danny Chambers got the nod as the main setter for this match as he tallied 28 assists on the team's 39. Freshman
JP Anderson and junior
Clayton Nix were brick walls in the middle with a couple of blocks that started runs for the Duhawks in the first set that helped the team come away with the victory 26-24.
It was another barn burner in the second set, but Fiorenza was on fire as he racked up five kills left and right as he had a team-high of 14 on a .500 hitting percentage for the game. As a team the Duhawks had 13 kills in that set for a 25-23 victory.
In the third set it, wasn't much of a competition. As a team the Duhawks had a hitting percentage of .538. Coming into the match late was senior
Jake Filotto and he needed no time getting ready as he had six kills in the third set and a hitting percentage of .714 to help the Duhawks cruise to a 25-12 win and take the third set over Hilbert.
The final game versus Baldwin Wallace was a good one but the Duhawks came up just short as they fell in four sets. In the first set it was back and forth, and no team seemed to get any momentum despite a couple of great blocks from senior
Patrick Mahoney and sophomore
Corey Mayotte while senior
Joe Horn had a season high in assists with 40 in the game.
Much was the same in the second set and the same ending score at 25-23 in favor of the Yellow Jackets. Mayotte and Filotto had some crucial kills in the second set with junior Michael Dziewoir just behind them. In the third set it was almost the same as the previous two sets but the Duhawks took it 25-22 with a career-high and team-high of 18 kills on a .279 hitting percentage for Mayotte.
Loras fell short at 25-20 in the fourth and final set, sending the Duhawks to their first loss of the 2023 season.
The Duhawks are back at home versus Marion University at Lillis Court on Friday, Jan. 27 at 7 P.M.
