River Forest, Ill. – RV Dominican University Men's Volleyball returned to the Igini Sports Forum for a high-level match against No. 11 UC Santa Cruz on Friday night.
 
Results:
RV Dominican: 3
No. 11 UC Santa Cruz: 1

How it Happened:
-The Banana Slugs surged out to an early 9-5 lead over Dominican.
-After both squads briefly traded side outs, the Stars began to claw back, now trailing 17-14 after a kill by Junior Ty Geschke.
-DU could not push its way back into the set, as UCSC took the first by a score of 25-19. Geschke had 3 kills in the opener.
-The Stars flipped the script to open the second, as a 7-0 run by Sophomore Kendall Esparza behind the line set Dominican up with an 8-2 advantage.
-Clutch hitting from Junior Thomas Hirsch and Graduate Student Casey Goss preserved a 19-13 DU lead.
-Dominican evened the match up at one set all by taking the second by a score of 25-22. Goss posted 4 kills and a block in Set 2.
-Set 3 started close, as an Esparza kill brought the Stars to within two at 9-7.
-With the Stars behind 19-13, momentum began to swing back to DU's side, beginning with a 3-0 run by Sophomore Landon Kassulke.
-Dominican surged out to take a 22-21 lead, powered by clutch serving from Freshman Dylan Roszak.
-A kill by Geschke and an ace by Hirsch sealed a 26-24 third-set comeback for the Stars. Hirsch and Esparza combined for 10 kills in the third.
-Mini-runs for Dominican pushed the Stars up 8-5 early against the Banana Slugs at the start of the fourth set.
-A 4-0 run by Geschke at the line extended DU's advantage to 13-7.
-Contributions across the court in the fourth set helped maintain the Stars' grip on the fourth set.
-DU earned its second victory over a ranked opponent this season after taking the fourth set by a score of 25-16.

Shining Stars:
-Junior Ty Geschke paced Dominican's attack, registering 15 kills on 30 attempts.
-Sophomore Kendall Esparza totaled 12 kills, 7 digs, a block, and an ace.
-Junior Thomas Hirsch recorded 9 kills on .667, along with 3 blocks and an ace.
-Sophomore Landon Kassulke dished 38 assists in the victory.
-Junior Grant Henderson led the Stars defensively with 13 digs.

  Leading the Way:
  Kills: Geschke (15)
  Aces: Roszak, Hirsch, and Esparza (1)
  Blocks: Diaz (4)
  Assists: Kassulke (38)
  Digs: Henderson (13)

What's Next:
RV Dominican University Men's Volleyball improved to 16-5 (7-2 NACC) on the 2026 season. The Stars will return to NACC action tomorrow, March 28^th, at Marian. The match is slated to begin at 5:00 p.m.

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