River Forest, Ill. – No. 20 Dominican University Men's Volleyball get set for the NACC Tournament Quarterfinal as the #2 seed against #7 seed Illinois Tech on Tuesday.

Series History vs. Illinois Tech:
All-Time Record / Streak: 8-1 / L1
-Dominican and Illinois Tech first played on 1/28/2017 in Chicago, Ill. (W, 3-0).
-The Stars are 3-1 at home against IIT.
-Earlier this season, the Stars fell to the Scarlet Hawks in four sets on 3/12/2026 (25-19, 16-25, 23-25, 17-25).
 
DU in Review:
-DU is 19-5 (10-2 NACC) (13-2 Home) (6-3 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 capped off the regular season with their seventh straight win over Wisconsin Lutheran on Senior Night on Saturday.
-Sophomore Kendall Esparza received Star of the Match honors, posting 11 kills on .688 hitting, along with an ace, a block, and 3 digs.
-Graduate Student Casey Goss recorded 6 kills, 3 aces, 2 blocks, and 9 digs.
-Senior David Valdez tallied 12 assists in the victory.
-Senior Tyler Vrska held down the back row with 4 digs.


NACC Tournament Picture:
 -Dominican has cliched a berth to the NACC tournament for the eighth straight season (2020 season canceled due to COVID-19).
-DU's appearance as the #2 seed in the NACC Tournament marks their highest finish in the NACC since its regular season title in 2024.
-The NACC has adopted a new host system for the NACC Tournament. Quarterfinals will remain unchanged, hosted by the highest seed in the match, while the Semifinals and Final will be hosted by the highest seed remaining in the tournament, creating a "final four" atmosphere at a neutral site.

Shining Stars:
-Junior Ty Geschke has led the attack for the Stars, totaling 279  kills for 3.21 kills per set. Geschke has added 134 digs and 26 blocks during the 2026 season. The junior is 5^th in the conference in kills.
-Sophomore Kendall Esparza is 2^nd on Dominican in kills with 250, which averages to 2.87 kills per set. The sophomore leads the Stars and the NACC in aces with 43.
-Junior Thomas Hirsch has been lights out through the middle for the Stars, tallying 227 kills and a conference-leading 92.0 blocks. Hirsch also leads the NACC in hitting percentage at .484.
-Sophomore Landon Kassulke is the leading playmaker for Dominican, notching 872 assists for 9.91 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 180 kills in 24 matches played.
-Junior Grant Henderson has held down the back row for DU, totaling a team-high 209 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 7-17 (5-7 NACC) on the 2026 season.
-The Scarlet Hawks snapped a five-match losing streak with a five set victory over Concordia Chicago on Wednesday, April 1^st.
-IIT registers 11.2 kills per set and hits at a .209 rate, while also having 10.2 digs per set and 1.3 blocks per set.