River Forest, Ill. – Dominican University Men's Volleyball returns to the Igini Sports Forum to take on Illinois Tech on Thursday.

Series History vs. Illinois Tech:
All-Time Record / Streak: 8-0 / W8
-Dominican and Illinois Tech first played on 1/28/2017 in Chicago, IL (W, 3-0).
-Dominican has only dropped two sets at home to the Scarlet Hawks.
-Last season, DU took down IIT at home in four sets (27-25, 16-25, 25-22, 25-17).
 
DU in Review:
-DU is 12-3 (4-1 NACC) (9-1 Home) (3-2 Road) on the 2026 season.
-The Stars finished the 2025 season with a 14-11 record and went 9-3 in conference.
-Dominican spent the preseason abroad in Italy, Croatia, and Slovenia to tune up for the 2026 campaign.
-The 2026 season marks the 3^rd season with Head Coach Doug Burchett at the helm. Burchett has amassed a 33-19 record since becoming head coach at Dominican.
 
Last Time Out:
 -The Stars handled Concordia Chicago in four sets last Thursday (19-25, 25-21, 28-26, 25-23).
 -Sophomore Kendall Esparza led the way for the Stars' attack, totaling 19 kills.
-Sophomore Landon Kassulke notched 37 assists.
-Junior Grant Henderson recorded 20 digs in the victory.

Shining Stars:
-Junior Ty Geschke has led the attack for the Stars, totaling 176 kills for 3.20 kills per set. Geschke has added 77 digs and 18 blocks during the 2026 season. The junior is 8^th in the conference in kills.
-Sophomore Kendall Esparza is 2^nd on Dominican in kills with 165, which averages to 3.00 kills per set. The sophomore leads the Stars in aces with 27. Esparza is 2^nd in the conference in aces.
-Junior Thomas Hirsch has been lights out through the middle for the Stars, tallying 131 kills and a team-leading and conference-leading 68.0 blocks.
-Sophomore Landon Kassulke is the leading playmaker for Dominican, notching 558 assists for 9.96 assists per set, which ranks as the highest mark in the NACC.
-Graduate Student Casey Goss rounds out the top four attackers for the Stars, posting 103 kills in 15 matches played.
-Junior Grant Henderson has held down the backrow for DU, totaling a team-high 140 digs.
 
Familiar Faces:
-Junior Ty Geschke returns from a strong Sophomore season. Geschke led the Stars in kills (275) and kills per set (3.62), was second in aces (56), and was third in blocks (38.0).
-Graduate Student Casey Goss will assume his place as the starting opposite hitter for DU, following up a Senior season that included 165 kills, 47 aces, and 22 blocks.
-Sophomore Kendall Esparza is back to don the Navy and Gold and looks to build upon a Freshman season of 82 kills, 23 aces, 45 digs, and 9 starts.
-Senior Michael Greco, Junior Thomas Hirsch, and Freshman Landon Diaz look to solidify the middle blocking position for Dominican. Hirsch led all middle blockers with 96 kills, while Greco led the 2025 squad in blocks with 44.0.
-Senior Tyler Vrska and Junior Grant Henderson return as the DS duo for the Stars. Henderson led DU with 126 digs last season, while Vrska finished fourth with 112.
 
Scouting Report:
-Illinois Tech is 4-11 (3-3 NACC) on the 2026 season.
-The Scarlet Hawks have dropped two of their last three matches, losing in five to Lakeland and in three to MSOE.
-IIT hits at a .191 clip, averaging 11.0 kills per set, 9.9 assists per set, and 10.5 digs per set.