By: Nolan DeVriese | Athletic Communications Student Assistant

April 12, 2023 - The postseason is upon us and (RV) Loras College men's volleyball is set to begin play in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament on Wednesday, April 12, as the No. 3-seeded Duhawks (18-5, 6-4 CCIW) will travel to Kenosha, Wis. to play the No. 2-seeded and ninth-ranked Carthage College Firebirds at 7 P.M.
 
The Duhawks started off hot early in the season, rattling off 12 wins out of 13 games with nine consecutive wins. Heading into CCIW play they started a bit slow but picked it up after getting their first CCIW win against North Park University at home to begin their CCIW quest throughout the 2023 season. In the last 12 games they have won eight and are currently on a three-game winning streak heading into the CCIW Tournament as they took care of business versus Illinois Wesleyan University in their regular season finale on Saturday. For any sport, it's hard to beat a team three times, and the Duhawks will face Carthage for the third time this year tonight and the second time on the road this year.

Wednesday night will be the third time the Duhawks face Carthage, and even though the Duhawks have not beaten Carthage yet, the Duhawks always put up a great game versus the Firebirds, and Wednesday should be a battle for who moves on in the CCIW tournament. The first time the Duhawks faced off against Carthage, the Duhawks had more kills and more assists. Every set was very close with only one set being decided by more than three points. These two teams are evenly matched and it should be a good one Wednesday night in the semifinal round.

In that first meeting, senior Dorian Fiorenza led the Duhawks in kills with 17 and junior Tyler Kratochvil had 12 to his name while the reigning CCIW Player of the Week in sophomore Corey Mayotte had 11 kills. Reigning CCIW Player of the Week senior Joe Horn came away with 45 assists and finished the 2023 season with a career high in assists with 727, clearing his last year total by 96.  In the most recent matchup versus the Firebirds Mayotte tallied 12 kills and Fiorenza tallied 11 kills as senior Patrick Mahoney had eight kills with seven blocks. Mahoney dominated the middle all season long as he was named as the CCIW Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year Tuesday morning. Mahoney tailed 98 blocks this season and cleared his blocks total by 28 from the previous year.

This is a win-or-go-home game for both programs while the winner will move on to the Championship match and take on either the top-seeded and No.5-ranked North Central Cardinals or the fourth-seeded North Park University Vikings on Saturday, April 15 at the highest remaining seed's home court.