River Forest, Ill. – #20 Dominican University Men's Volleyball took on the Cardinals of North Central College in a heavyweight tilt on Thursday night.
 
 Results:
  Dominican: 3
  North Central: 1

  How it Happened:
-The first set started with DU and NCC trading mini runs, but a 3-0 run from Sophomore Kendall Esparza ultimately gave Dominican a 13-12 lead.
-The Cardinals answered back and were the first to reach 20, holding a 20-18 advantage.
-Graduate Student Casey Goss and Junior Ty Geschke came up clutch to close out the first set for the Stars, totaling 4 kills and an ace between the two as Dominican took the first by a score of 30-28.
-Both squads started the second set on even footing, but North Central used a 4-0 run to take a 10-6 lead.
-Senior Michael Greco and Esparza recorded much-needed side outs for Dominican to hang in the set, as the Stars eventually knotted up the second at 22-22.
-North Central closed out the second set by a score of 25-23 and tied up the match at one set each.
-The Stars opened the third set on fire, taking a 9-3 lead after a 4-0 run from the line by Hirsch.
-The Cardinals began to claw back and were trailing 16-13 when Goss tallied back-to-back kills to swing momentum back in the favor of DU.
-Dominican closed out the third set by a score of 25-17 after a monster solo block by Sophomore Landon Diaz.
-NCC had an impressive opening to the fourth set, posting an early 11-5 lead.
-After the Stars sided out through a Cardinal error at 15-12, Hirsch rattled off a 7-0 run from the line to catapult Dominican into a 20-15 lead.
-Hirsch's run pushed the Stars across the line, as DU took the fourth set 25-20 and won the match 3-1.

  Shining Stars:
-Junior Ty Geschke led the attack for the Stars, totaling 18 kills on .293 hitting alongside 2 aces and 6 digs.
-Junior Thomas Hirsch notched 10 kills, 3 aces, and 2 blocks.
-Sophomore Kendall Esparza tallied 8 kills and team highs in aces (4) and digs (7)
-Sophomore Landon Kassulke dished 42 assists in the victory.
-Senior Michael Greco registered 4 kills before exiting the game due to injury.
 
  Leading the Way:
  Kills: Geschke (18)
  Aces: Esparza (4)
  Blocks: Diaz, Esparza, and Hirsch (2)
  Assists: Kassulke (42)
  Digs: Esparza (7)

  What's Next:
Dominican University Men's Volleyball improves to 8-1 (1-0 NACC) on the 2026 season. The Stars will prepare to travel to #12 Loras College on Sunday for DU's first ranked-on-ranked match of the season. Sunday's match against the Duhawks will begin at 2:00 p.m.

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