River Forest, Ill. – RV Dominican University Men's Volleyball continued on the road with a matchup against #9 Aurora University on Wednesday night.
 
 Results:
 RV Dominican: 3
 #9 Aurora: 2

  How it Happened:
-Aurora got the better of Dominican in the opening moments of the first set, taking a 7-2 lead.
-The Stars tried to claw their way back into the opener, as Sophomore Kendall Esparza recorded a pair of kills in the middle of the frame, but the Spartans held a 17-10 advantage.
-DU dropped the opening set by a score of 25-18. Esparza had 4 kills in Set 1.
-Neither squad could establish a firm hold on the second set, with Dominican gaining some breathing room at 15-9 after a 4-0 run at the line by Freshman Dylan Roszak.
-Aurora answered with a 3-0 run of their own, but the Stars countered with a 6-1 run, which included kills by Junior Ty Geschke and Graduate Student Casey Goss to put Dominican up 21-13.
-Despite a late comeback effort from the Spartans, DU was able to knot the match at one set apiece, taking the second by a score of 25-21. Geschke totaled 6 kills in the second set.
-Another highly contested opening to the third set saw both squads knotted at 8-8, with Aurora pulling away 17-14.
-Dominican could not fight back into the fourth set, dropping the frame by a score of 25-19. Junior Thomas Hirsch posted a pair of kills in Set 3.
-With their backs against the wall, the Stars looked to push the match to a fifth set and were level in the opening moments with the Spartans at 10-10.
-After Aurora went up 22-19, a 4-0 run by Sophomore Landon Kassulke at the line pushed the fourth into a win-by-two situation.
-The Stars pushed forward, rattling off three straight points after falling behind 27-26 to take the fourth set 29-27. Goss had 5 kills and an ace in the extended fourth stanza.
-In the winner takes all fifth, DU led 8-5 at the change of ends after Geschke registered back-to-back kills. Kassulke finished his 4-0 run with the Stars up 10-5.
-Dominican and Auora then traded side outs, with DU keeping the Spartans at bay.
-Kassulke and Geschke posted the final two kills to power the Stars over Aurora in the fifth, 15-11, and took home the upset victory, 3-2.

  Shining Stars:
-Junior Ty Geschke and Graduate Student Casey Goss combined for 30 kills (15 each) and 27 digs in the marathon match.
-Sophomore Kendall Esparza notched 14 kills on .387 hitting, along with 12 digs.
-Junior Thomas Hirsch posted 13 kills on .385 hitting and led Dominican with 2 blocks.
-Sophomore Landon Kassulke dished 56 assists, his third time reaching the 55+ assist mark this season.
-Junior Grant Henderson registered 13 digs for the Stars in the five-set victory.

  Leading the Way:
  Kills: Geschke and Goss (15)
  Aces: Goss (2)
  Blocks: Hirsch (2)
  Assists: Kassulke (56)
  Digs: Goss (15)

  What's Next:
RV Dominican University Men's Volleyball improved to 13-5 (5-2 NACC) on the 2026 season. The Stars will return to the Igini Sports Forum on Saturday, March 21^st, for a 1:00 p.m. match against the Green Knights of St. Norbert.

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