NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The Loras College men's volleyball team took down the No. 18-ranked North Central College Cardinals in four sets on Saturday afternoon inside Gregory Arena.
The Cardinals led for most of the opening set, increasing their lead to as many as six (15-9) midway through the set. The Duhawks used an 8-2 run to knot the score up at 17 apiece, but North Central (8-4, 2-0 CCIW) put itself back in front by three (20-17) following a trio of errors by the Purple and Gold. Loras (8-1, 2-0) cut the lead to one (22-21) once more before the end of the set, but the home team responded with three straight points to take the set 25-21.
The Duhawks rattled off four consecutive points, three of which were blocks, to start the second set. Loras never looked back extending its advantage to eight (16-8) halfway through the set. The Purple and Gold evened the match to one set apiece with a 25-19 set two win.
Loras benefited from a North Central attack error and a kill from
Corey Mayotte to break the final tie at 2-2 to regain the lead (4-2). The Duhawks led by as many as 10 (22-12) en route to a comfortable 25-14 set three victory.
The Purple and Gold strung together five straight points to take an early 8-3 lead over the Cardinals in the final set. The Duhawks kept at least a four-point buffer between them and the home team to cruise to a 25-17 set four win.
Mayotte led the way for Loras with a match-high 21 kills.
Nolan Krygsheld and
Roman Rothermel totaled double-digit kills as well finishing with 15 and 11 respectively. Krygsheld added 14 digs to his stat line, while Rothermel tallied five blocks on the night.
Evan Dziadkowiec handed out 48 assists, while the Duhawks hit .350 as a team, registering 55 kills and 14 errors in 117 attempts.
Carson Steinbach put down a team-high 15 kills for the Cardinals, while also recording 15 digs on the night. Austin Scott finished with nine kills, while Tyler Donovan dished out 34 assists. North Central hit .102, which included 40 kills and 28 errors in 118 attempts.
Up Next: The Duhawks head to Rock Island, Ill. to take on the Augustana College Vikings on Wednesday, Feb. 26. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. from the Roy J. Carver Center.
