DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Loras College men's volleyball team survived a five-set thriller against Trine University in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night inside the Lillis Athletic and Wellness Center to advance to the Elite Eight.

"This time of year, it's survive and advance and that's the name of the game," said head coach Dylan Ross. "They (Trine) frustrated us. They made us work and work and work and I'm proud of the way that we responded."

In the opening set, the Duhawks fought back from an early 8-3 deficit with a 5-1 run to trail by just one point. After some back-and-forth play in the following points, the Purple and Gold rattled off three straight points to break the final tie of the set at 16-16, which would give them a lead they would hold onto for the remainder of the set. Loras (25-1 overall) took a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-21 win in set one.

The Duhawks fell behind by three multiple times throughout the second set, but always found a way to tie things up. They took a brief one-point lead later on (21-20), but a pair of kills from both Ted Hofmesiter and Johnson-Kuhao Ho'okano-Pelekai and a Loras attack error, secured the Thunder the 25-22 win in set two to tie the match at one set apiece.

The Purple and Gold led the third set from wire to wire. They raced out to a 7-1 lead to start the set and increased their lead to as many as seven (14-7) midway through the set. Trine (19-7) was able to get within two a couple of times, but the Duhawks were able to weather the storm and grab the set three win by a score of 25-21.

The Thunder held a 10-6 lead over the home team early on, but the Duhawks worked their way back to knot the score up at 18-18. Trine outscored Loras 7-2 in the final points of the set, benefiting from four errors by the Purple and Gold. With the 25-20 set four win, the Thunder tied the match up once again to force a fifth set.

Neither team led by more than two points in the final set. A Corey Mayotte kill and a ball-handling error by Trine gave the Duhawks the two points they needed to break the 14-14 tie, win the set and clinch the program's first NCAA Tournament victory.

"It's something that we've been working for, not even just this year, but last year and the year before, we've been working really hard to continue to move this program forward and get us to a point to where we are competing in this tournament and doing it on a consistent basis," said fifth-year senior outside hitter Dorian Fiorenza. "A win today is just another step in the right direction."

Mayotte led the way for the Purple and Gold offensively, putting down a career-high 33 kills. Dorian Fiorenza also tallied double-digit kills, finishing with 18, while Tyler Kratochvil and Sean Wenzel posted nine kills apiece in the win. Joe Horn handed out 60 assists, while he and Brady Oberfoell totaled 13 digs each. Loras hit .340 as a team, which featured 71 kills and 17 errors in 159 attempts.  

Up Next: The Duhawks will take on the California Lutheran University Kingsmen in an Elite Eight matchup tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. on Lillis Court.