March 12, 2023 – (RV) Loras College men's volleyball needed to get back in the win column any way possible, and the Duhawks managed to do so on Saturday against North Park University in a 3-0 game at Lillis Court.

The Duhawks (13-3, 2-2 CCIW) drew back to even in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) with their important win over the Vikings (9-8, 1-3 CCIW). Loras has still never lost in the all-time series with North Park with an 8-0 record since 2019.

Loras outperformed North Park in nearly every category on Saturday as the Duhawks led in kills (44-26), blocks (4-3), and aces (6-2). The first set turned out to be one of the more competitive of the three as the Vikings did just enough to hang around and stay within one or two points of the lead.

With a 19-18 lead, the Duhawks got an important kill from senior hitter Dorian Fiorenza that stopped a short burst from the Vikings. That kill was followed by back-to-back North Park attacking errors as the Duhawks managed to pull away a little after that finish off the 25-20 win with another kill from Fiorenza.

The second set was not nearly as competitive as the Duhawks got ahead early and stayed ahead to cruise to a 25-15 win. Sophomore Corey Mayotte had the hot hand early in the frame as he totaled five kills to account for five of Loras' first 12 points in the set.

Neither side got much separation in the third set until a small 3-0 run for Loras gave them a 17-13 lead. Within that run was a well-time attack and kill from senior setter Joe Horn as that played was part of a 5-2 overall run for Loras. Horn notched another kill later in the set for Loras' 24^th point of the frame. This time, his point bookended a 3-0 run to help Loras claim a sweep with a 25-19 win.

Fiorenza led Loras again with 14 kills on 22 attempts as he compiled an attacking percentage of .455. Mayotte was second with eight kills while senior middle blocker Patrick Mahoney added six with only one error to finish with a .625 attacking percentage. Per usual. Mahoney also led the way in blocks as he had three block assists and one solo.

The Duhawks are back at home for another CCIW match on Saturday, March 18 against Illinois Wesleyan University at 2 P.M.