BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (April 8, 2023) – No. 15 Loras College men's volleyball finished up another strong regular season campaign on Saturday afternoon as the Duhawks took down Illinois Wesleyan University 3-1 to secure the No. 3 seed in the upcoming College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament.

The Duhawks (18-5, 6-4 CCIW) took each of the first two sets over the Titans (11-14, 2-8 CCIW), but couldn't secure the sweep and settled for a win in set four to finish off the regular season. As the third seed in the conference tournament, Loras will face second-seeded No. 9 Carthage College in the semifinals on Wednesday, April 12 at 7 P.M. in Kenosha, Wis.

On Saturday, the Duhawks got 15 players into the match as they started out hot with a 25-15 victory in set one. Senior Joe Horn was on the serve for a string of six straight points for the Duhawks that increased the lead to 14-7 and served as the turning point in the set.

The Titans hung around in the second set and kept the margin to just one point late, but Loras was having none of it as the Duhawks scored the final three points in the set to take it 25-21. Seniors Patrick Mahoney, Jake Filotto, and Dorian Fiorenza tallied the kills in that final stretch to give Loras a 2-0 lead.

Having gone further into the bench than normal, the Duhawks were bested by the Titans in the third set that went all the way into extra points. After a back-and-forth affair, the Titans nabbed two straight points at the end of the set to avoid a sweep and take it 26-24.

Loras wanted nothing to do with a fifth set as a 3-0 run to start the fourth frame set the tone for a 25-17 win for the Duhawks that was punctuated by a block assist for Mahoney and junior Quinlan Cummings.

Sophomore hitter Corey Mayotte paced the Duhawks with 17 kills while Fioreza added 13. The duo also combined for 13 digs, a category that was led by Filotto's 17 on Saturday.

The Duhawks now shift their attention to the postseason and their Wednesday opener at Carthage. Loras is 0-15 all-time against the Firebirds, including a pair of 3-1 losses in this 2023 regular season.