AURORA, Ill (Feb. 24, 2023) – The (RV) Loras College men's volleyball team got its weekend started in style on Friday night as the Duhawks made easy work of the Aurora University Spartans to claim a 3-0 road victory.

The Duhawks (9-1) outpaced the Spartans (2-7) in just about every statistical category on Friday night, most notably with a point advantage of 49-19.5 as Loras got stronger and stronger as the match went on.

Despite some lopsided numbers, the Duhawks had to fight hard for their 25-21 win in the opening set as the Spartans did their best to hang around. Loras trailed 7-5 early, but an 8-1 run quickly helped them turn things around as their deficit suddenly became a 13-8 lead.

The Spartans didn't let the Duhawks get too far away, and even rallied late to get themselves into the 20s after Loras led 20-13. That flurry turned out to be too little too late as a kill from sophomore hitter Corey Mayotte finished off the frame for Loras.

Set number two was not nearly as competitive as the Duhawks went on three separate 4-0 runs during the set to pull away from the Spartans in a 25-13 effort. After the Spartans tallied 12 kills in the first set, they totaled just four kills in the second as four total blocks from Loras helped deter their offense. Senior middle blocker Patrick Mahoney totaled three blocks in the set with two solos to lead the way.

The third set was as dominant as it gets as Loras won 25-4. Of the Spartans' four points, three came on service errors from the Duhawks as they cruised past a wave of Aurora subs to finish off the sweep.

Mahoney and senior hitter Dorian Fiorenza tied for the Loras lead with six kills apiece while Mahoney led the way with three solo blocks. Loras was efficient in their attacking game as the team totaled just six attacking errors, which ties a season-low, and finished with a .356 hitting percentage.

Loras is back in action tomorrow, Saturday Feb. 25, with a road match at Dominican University at 12 P.M.