The fifteenth-ranked Dominican University men's volleyball team saw their 19-match winning streak come to a close on Sunday morning with a 3-1 (25-23, 25-14, 23-25, 25-20) loss to the Mount St. Joseph University Lions in Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) play before starting up a new streak with a sweep of the #3 Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks (25-20, 25-14, 25-22) at the Igini Sports Forum.  The Stars' win over Stevens was the 65^th win in the program's four-year history and marked the Stars' first win over a team ranked in the top 3 in the AVCA Men's Division III Top 15 poll.
 
"Sometimes a loss at this time of year can be a good thing and help you refocus," commented Dan Ames, the Stars' fourth-year head coach. "We had been rolling along and may have lost focus and a good team like Mount St. Joe will make you pay if you are not ready. With that said, I was glad to see us quickly right the ship and come out with a renewed attitude against Stevens.  That win showed us just how good this team can be."
 
The Stars, now 20-2 on the season and 14-1 in the MCVL, return to action next Friday, hosting the Lakeland University Muskies at 7:00 p.m. in the Igini Sports Forum.  The Stars then close out the home portion of their 2017 regular season schedule on Saturday when the Marian University Sabres visit River Forest.
 
Match One: Mount St. Joseph 3, Dominican 1
 
The Lions hit .417 in topping the Stars, the highest attack percentage any opponent has managed against Dominican all season.  The Stars managed to collect six blocks but MSJ committed just four other hitting errors while knocking down 53 kills on 103 attacks.  Across the net, the Stars hit below .250 for just the third time this season, hitting .220 with 54 kills to 27 errors on 123 total swings.
 
The Lions came out hot in the first set, hitting .571 as a team behind a perfect 6-for-6 from Brett Cooper and 5-for-5 from Darrell Swanson.  The Stars nearly kept pace with their MCVL counterpart, hitting .438 including six kills for senior Michal Kawa in the opening set, but the Lions went 17-for-23 on sideouts, not allowing Dominican to make many runs.
 
The Lions set the tone at the net in the second set, posting 5.0 of their 10.0 total blocks in the match in the second set, forcing the Stars into a -.174 attack percentage.  Offensively, the Lions' Alex Vohland knocked down three kills while Cooper served up three aces as Mount St. Joseph built a 2-0 lead.
 
It was the Dominican block that set the tone in the third set as the Stars narrowed the gap to 2-1.  Nick Timreck got in on three of the Stars' four blocks in the frame while Zach Sinn logged a solo block and block assist.  Offensively, Sinn was a 4-for-4 in the set while Charlie Spry tallied two kills of his own to lead the Stars to a .238 attack percentage.
 
In the fourth set, the Lions' offense returned to form behind Andrew Chisholm who collected six kills on seven swings.  Sinn continued to swing a heavy hand for the Stars, knocking down five kills on eight attempts but the Lions went 18-for-21 on sideouts, again limiting any Dominican runs.
 
Kawa finished with a team-high 13 kills in the loss while Sinn finished with nine kills in just two sets of action.  Senior Alex Coyne doled out 45 assists while utilizing ten different hitters.
 
Match Two: Dominican 3, Stevens 0
 
The Stars shook off the morning loss and bounced back in a major way, hitting .387 against one of the top blocking teams in the country.  Junior Luke Spicer totaled 20.0 points in the winning effort, knocking down 15 kills on 26 attempts and adding two aces and four total blocks.  Defensively, the Stars held the Ducks more than .150 points below their season average, forcing 19 errors while surrendering just 30 kills.
 
Dominican dominated each set, trailing just twice total in the match and limiting Stevens' runs with a .666 sideout percentage.
 
Kawa reached double-figure kills for the seventh time this season, knocking down 11 kills on 21 attempts while Jeremy Royko added nine kills and Coyne dished out 37 assists.
 
Defensively, Dominican posted 7.0 blocks, including four total blocks for Spicer and three for Mason Solbrig, while Brooks Nevrly led the back-row effort with seven digs.