Dubuque, IA- The #20 Dominican University Men's Volleyball team traveled to Iowa, to take on #12 Loras College in a ranked-on-ranked match up Sunday afternoon.
Results:
Dominican: 2
Loras: 3
How it Happened:
-The first set was trading points between DU and Loras with the score 12-12 halfway through the first set.
-Dominican had a mini 3-0 run right after this taking a 14-12 lead as the first set came towards the later portions.
-In a blink of an eye the Stars were down 23-20 before Sophomore Kendall Esparza notched the final two kills of the set to come back and win set 1, 25-23.
-Esparza and Junior Ty Geschke each earned 5 kills in the first set.
-DU carried that momentum right into the second set with Sophomore Landon Diaz earning 2 kills, and Dominican holding an early 4-1 lead. -The Duhawks struck back tying the game up at 8.
-Loras was able to carry that into the rest of the set winning the second set 25-20, and tying the match up at 1 set a piece.
-Diaz earned three kills in the second set.
-The third set started the same as the second, with the Stars pulling out to a 4-1 lead, this time due to some errors by Loras.
-The Duhawks found their answer and tied the set up at 11.
-Both squads traded mini runs, until DU had the last answer of the third set, scoring the final 5 of 6 points and winning 25-21. In the final stages of the set, Geschke earned 2 kills, including the final kill of the set.
-Graduate Student Casey Goss added 5 kills to his name in this set and was a crucial part of the DU offense.
-The #20 Stars were looking to close out the #12 Duhawks in their gym going into the fourth set, but Loras had other ideas, by starting the set on a 7-2 run.
-Dominican inched their way back into the set after Esparza landed a kill to make the score 10-8 in favor of Loras.
-The Duhawks instantly stopped the DU push, by extending their lead back out to 5.
-DU found themselves down 22-17 in the latter portion of the set, looking for one last run to not go into the 5th set. The Stars found a mini run that made the score of 22-20.
-Loras shut the door after this run and forced a 5th set, winning 25-22.
-Geschke continued his phenomenal game earning 7 kills in this set.
-The fifth set started with both squads trading points until the middle portion of the final set, with Loras taking an 11-9 lead. Junior Thomas Hirsch helped in the start of the set earning back-to-back kills.
-The Duhawks continued their run to push match point, with the score being 14-9.
-Dominican added one more point to their total before Loras completed the comeback to win three sets to two.
-Goss earned 3 kills in the final set.
Shining Stars:
-Junior Ty Geschke led the way for the Stars earning 22 points, while holding a .196 hitting percentage. Geschke also added 2 service aces. -Sophomore Kendall Esparza has continued to be a huge threat for DU collecting 16 kills, while earning a .222 hitting percentage.
-Graduate Student Casey Goss has continued to come on strong recently for Dominican adding 12 kills and 2 blocks.
-Junior Thomas Hirsch continues his tear by hitting .600 with 11 kills and 2 blocks.
-Sophomore Landon Diaz was a force at the net by collecting 4 blocks.
-Sophomore Landon Kassulke dished out 59 assists with 3 blocks.
Leading the Way:
Kills: Geschke (22)
Aces: Geschke (2)
Blocks: Diaz (4)
Assists: Kassulke (59)
Digs: Henderson (13)
What's Next:
#20 Dominican University Men's Volleyball moves to 8-2 (1-0 NACC) on the 2026 season. The Stars will have six days off before playing two games in the Igini Sports Forum on February 21st. DUMVB will host Rockford University at 10:00 a.m. before a game off when Rockford and University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point play each other at 1:00 p.m. Following the neutral site game the Stars will the play UW Stevens Point at 4:00 p.m.
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