Aurora, Ill. – The Dominican University Men's Volleyball returns to action for their second straight road contest, this one at Aurora University on Wednesday night.


Series History vs. Aurora:
All-Time Record / Streak: 10-4 / L2
-Dominican and Aurora first played on 2/28/2018 inside the Igini Sports Forum, the Stars won 3-0.
-DU's longest win streak against AU is from 2019 to 2022, where they won 5 straight matches.
-The Stars are 4-2 at Aurora University.
- Last season, Dominican went 0-2 against Aurora, including the NACC semifinal match, losing 3-0. 
 
DU in Review:
-DU is 12-5 (4-2 NACC) (9-2 Home) (3-3 Road) on the 2026 season.
-DU has lost back-to-back matches for the first time this 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 fell to #1 Carthage on the road last Saturday (25-19, 25-15, 25-19).
-Junior Ty Geschke led Dominican's attack, registering 9 kills and adding 6 digs.
-Junior Thomas Hirsch posted 7 kills on .778 hitting.
-Sophomore Landon Kassulke tallied 21 assists and 6 digs.
-Graduate Student Casey Goss totaled 6 kills, 7 digs, and a block.


Shining Stars:
-Junior Ty Geschke has led the attack for the Stars, totaling 204 kills for 3.29 kills per set. Geschke has added 89 digs and 19 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 179, which averages to 2.89 kills per set. The sophomore leads the Stars in aces with 30. Esparza is 2^nd in the conference in aces.
-Junior Thomas Hirsch has been lights out through the middle for the Stars, tallying 150 kills and a team-leading and conference-leading 73.0 blocks.
-Sophomore Landon Kassulke is the leading playmaker for Dominican, notching 618 assists for 9.81 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 115 kills in 17 matches played.
-Junior Grant Henderson has held down the back row for DU, totaling a team-high 155 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:
-Aurora was 11 in the AVCA rankings poll on March 10th.
-The Spartans are 16-3 overall with a 7-0 NACC record in the 2026 season.
-AU is currently on a 10-match win streak and is 2-1 on their home floor.
- Aurora's last loss was February 13^th vs. Loras College in a 5-set match.
-The Spartans earn 12.8 kills per set and hit at a .304 rate, while also having 10.8 digs per set and 2.1 blocks per set. AU also earns 11.6 assists per set.