The Dominican University men's volleyball team, opening Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play a week later than originally scheduled, took their league opener from the MSOE Raiders in four sets (25-22, 27-25, 15-25, 25-20) in Milwaukee on Friday night.
"It was great to see our guys regroup and pull out a back and forth match against a scrappy MSOE team," said Dominican University's head coach, Dan Pawlikowski.
Dominican's defense sent the tone early, especially in the back row where the Stars held MSOE to a .190 attack percentage, collecting 17 digs and posting 2.5 blocks.
Ethan Klosak and
Jeremy Parker collected four digs apiece in the opening set while freshman setter
Jack McGuire posted a solo block and an assisted block. Offensively, All-American
Luke Spicer sparked the Stars' attack, knocking down five kills on just nine swings without committing an error.
In the second set, Dominican's offense hit a blistering .458, committing just two errors while collecting 13 kills. McGuire picked up 12 assists in the set, connecting with Klosak for six kills and Spicer for another four as the senior posted nine kills on his first 17 attacks without an error.
In the third set, the Stars offense slowed, committing eight errors while managing just eight kills as the Raiders pulled within a set before the Stars managed to regroup and close out the win in the fourth. Spicer and
Nick Timreck knocked down four kills apiece in the clinching set while Klosak added three of his own.
McGuire picked up his first career double-double, doling out 43 assists and collecting 11 digs as the rookie setter ran the Stars to a .210 hitting percentage. Spicer finished with a match-high 16 kills on 43 swings while Klosak added 15 kills.
Defensively, the Stars tallied six blocks and collected 52 digs. McGuire and Timreck posted three total blocks apiece while
David DeMarco shared team-high honors with McGuire with 11 digs.
For the Raiders, Bryant Holland led three in double-figures with 13 kills while Logan Baerenwald and Andrew Miler posted a double-double each with Baerenwald posting ten kills and ten digs and Miller collecting 39 assists and 11 digs.
Dominican, now 7-3 on the season, return to action next Friday, hosting the Marian University Sabres for a 7:00 p.m. match in the Igini Sports Forum.
