River Forest, Ill. – Men's Volleyball marches toward the end of the regular season, Softball earns strong conference victories, Baseball picks up its first NACC win, and Track and Field gets off the blocks for the outdoor season.

RV Men's Volleyball opened the week at Concordia Wisconsin on Tuesday night. The Stars had no trouble taking down the Falcons, as DU picked up its ninth sweep victory. Dominican received strong attacking performances from Junior Ty Geschke and Junior Thomas Hirsch, who posted 13 and 11 kills, respectively. On Friday night, the Stars returned home to face off against No. 11 California, Santa Cruz, in a must-watch match. After dropping the opening set, DU stormed back and took the next three, claiming their second victory this season over a ranked opponent. Geschke potted another 15 kills, followed by Sophomore Kendall Esparza's 12. Junior Grant Henderson led Dominican's strong defensive effort with 13 digs. To close the week, the Stars traveled to Marian on Saturday. Another great performance across the court led Dominican to another straight set victory, extending DU's win streak to five matches. Hirsch led the Stars in attacking with 13 kills, while Sophomore Landon Diaz posted a team-high four blocks in the contest. This upcoming week, DUMVB will host Benedictine on Wednesday, April 1^st, for a Blue Out in the Igini Sports Forum. Students who wear blue to the match can receive free pizza. The match against the Eagles is scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. start. Lastly, Dominican will host Wisconsin Lutheran for Senior Night on Saturday, April 4^th, at 1:00 p.m.

Softball got its week started on Saturday, as the Stars made the trek up to Milwaukee to take on MSOE in a doubleheader. In Game 1, a low-scoring affair saw DU surge out to a lead late, as DU took the opener by a score of 3-0. Freshman Charlie Harris recorded all three RBIs for the Stars, while Sophomore Hannah Richards pitched a complete game and only allowed 2 hits in the circle. In Game 2, Dominican's bats got hot, defeating the Raiders 10-1 in five innings. Senior Paytin Salfi, Junior Emme Slavens, and Sophomore Madisen Butler all recorded homers in the win. A quick turnaround saw the Stars back in action at Concordia Chicago on Sunday for another doubleheader. In the opener, DU jumped out to a 6-2 lead at the top of the fifth and was able to hang on, defeating the Cougars by a final score of 6-5. Dominican received contributions across the lineup, as eight Stars recorded at least a hit in the victory. In the final game of the week, clutch batting at the top of the seventh inning broke a 2-2 deadlock, as the Stars completed the sweep over CUC by taking Game 2 by a final score of 4-2. Sophomore Rhiannon Rubio pitched a complete game, allowing just 2 hits and 2 runs. Softball will return to action for one series this week at Lakeland on Saturday, April 4^th, with Game 1 of the doubleheader against the Muskies beginning at 12:00 p.m.

Baseball began the week with a standalone game against North Park at home on Monday. The Vikings' bats offense proved too much for the Stars to overcome, as DU suffered a 20-6 defeat. Sophomore Marco Stawski recorded 2 RBIs against NPU. Dominican then returned to NACC action on Wednesday, hosting Concordia Chicago in a doubleheader. In Game 1, two high-powered offenses went head-to-head, with the Stars falling short by a final score of 17-11. Senior Zach Helein, Senior Ricky Powell, and Junior Alex Garcia all hit homers in the opener against the Cougars. In Game 2, a big third inning by CUC was the difference maker, as Dominican fell in Game 2 by a final score of 14-4. Freshman Austin Long totaled 3 hits in the series finale. The Stars then traveled for their first road series of the season at Concordia Wisconsin on Friday. In the opener, a 2-RBI triple by Senior Niko Krecu, a homer by Garcia, and an RBI single by Long powered DU to its first conference victory of the season, taking down the Falcons by a final score of 4-2. Sophomore Alex Voegele was dealing on the mound, recording 8.0 innings pitched and allowing just 2 hits and 2 runs. Senior Aaron O'Grady picked up the save in relief. In the second game of the day, Dominican fell behind early and could not recover, splitting the series after falling 16-3. Freshman Nick Lopez hit his first collegiate homer at the bottom of the sixth. Baseball will return home for a doubleheader against Rockford on Tuesday, March 31^st, with the first pitch of Game 1 being at 1:00 p.m. Following the series against Rockford, the Stars will travel to Loras for a nonconference doubleheader on Thursday, April 2^nd, which starts at 1:00 p.m., before returning home once again to face Lakeland at Wintrust Field in a doubleheader on Saturday, April 4^th. First pitch against the Muskies is slated for 12:00 p.m.
 
Track and Field began the outdoor season at the North Central First Chance Invitational and will get set for the Wheaton College Invite on Thursday, April 2^nd. 
 
Stars of the Week for the week of March 23^rd to 29^th:

Sophomore Rhiannon Rubio of Softball took home Women's Star of the Week Honors. Rubio picked up two wins, a save, and allowed just 3 runs across 11.2 innings pitched last week.

Graduate Student Casey Goss of Men's Volleyball was named Men's Star of the Week. Goss amassed 24 kills on .304 hitting while adding 8 total blocks and 17 digs across DU's three wins last week.