DUBUQUE, Iowa – The No. 14-ranked Loras College men's volleyball team took down the No. 10-ranked Aurora University Spartans in four sets on Saturday afternoon in a tightly-contested battle at Lillis Court.  

The Duhawks were led by Bo Brainerd III with 20 kills, while Roman Rothermel and Connor Jaral followed closely behind, putting down 15 and 14 kills respectively. Evan Dziadkowiec handed out 47 assists in addition to posting a team-high 11 digs.  

Neither team was able to gain momentum early in the first set until a Duhawk attack error gave Aurora (2-1 overall, 0-0 NACC) a three-point lead (11-8). The Purple and Gold used a 7-0 run capped off by an ace from Lucas Eckrose to give them a three-point lead (17-14). The Duhawks took a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-18 set one win.  

The Spartans jumped out to a 5-0 lead to start the second set before a service error halted the run. Despite the early deficit, Loras (6-0, 0-0 CCIW) was able to tie the set up at 18-18 thanks to a service ace from Rothermel. After some back-and-forth play, the Duhawks put themselves in front (23-22), but the Spartans reclaimed the lead to take the second set by a score of 27-25. 

The third set was closely contested before a kill from Jaral gave the Duhawks their first lead of the set 9-8. Aurora tied the score up at 9-9, and both teams traded points until a kill from Rothermel gave the Purple and Gold an 18-17 advantage. Loras broke the final tie of the set at 24-24 with back-to-back kills from Rothermel and Elijah Passey to secure the 26-24 set three win.  

The Duhawks held a 6-4 lead early on in the fourth set before using a 5-2 run to give themselves a 13-9 advantage. The Spartans climbed back to cut the deficit to just one (14-13), but the Duhawks were able to maintain their lead. Brainerd put down the final two kills of the match to complete the upset.  

Up Next: Loras travels to Springfield, Ohio for the Springfield Showcase hosted by Wittenberg University. The Duhawks are set to face off against the Illinois Institute of Technology and Bridgewater College on Feb. 6 before taking on the host and No. 5 Southern Virginia University on Feb. 7.