DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Loras College men's volleyball team completed the reverse sweep against No. 19 North Central College on Saturday afternoon inside the Lillis Athletic and Wellness Center to clinch a share of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Regular Season title.
The Duhawks fell behind 11-6 in the opening set but were able to stay within reach, tying the score up at 22-22 later on. The Purple and Gold forced extra points, but back-to-back North Central (14-9 overall, 4-6 CCIW) kills from Connor Davis and Austin Scott gave the Cardinals the 26-24 set one win.
Loras (22-1, 9-1) erased a three-point deficit early on in set two with a five-point run to take a brief 10-8 lead, but the visitors responded with a six-point run of their own to regain the lead (15-12). The Duhawks evened the score at 15-15, but the Cardinals utilized a 10-4 run to close out set two and take a 2-0 lead in the match by a score of 25-19.
After some back-and-forth play in set three, the Duhawks rattled off seven consecutive points to break the 12
th and final tie at 14-14 to take a comfortable 21-14 lead. North Central was able to get within five, before the Duhawks secured the final two points of the set off a Cardinal service error and a
Dorian Fiorenza kill to claim set three 25-18.
The Purple and Gold raced out to a 4-1 lead to start set four, thanks to two North Central attack errors, a block by
Tyler Kratochvil and a service ace by Fiorenza. Loras led by as many as six multiple times throughout the set, never allowing the Cardinals to get any closer than within three. The Duhawks forced a fifth set, following their 25-19 victory in set four.
In the final set, the Duhawks broke the 8-8 tie with a three-point run which gave them a lead they would hold onto until the end of the set. A kill and a block by Fiorenza sealed the set five victory for Loras, 15-11.
Jared Moser and Cooper Lundal led the Cardinals offense with 16 and 11 kills respectively, while Tyler Donovan handed out 39 assists. Donovan also added a game-high 15 digs and four blocks to his stat line as well. As a team, North Central hit .179 which featured 52 kills and 27 errors in 140 attempts.
Both
Corey Mayotte and Fiorenza put down season-high kills, with Mayotte totaling 23 and Fiorenza finishing with 21.
Joe Horn dished out 49 assists, while Kratochvil led the team in blocks with three. Loras hit .248, which included 63 kills and 26 errors in 149 attempts.
Up Next: The Purple and Gold welcome North Central back to Lillis Court for the CCIW Tournament Semifinal on Wednesday, April 10 at 7 p.m.
