River Forest, Ill. – #2 Seed Dominican University Men's Volleyball hosted #7 Seed Illinois Tech in a NACC Quarterfinal clash on Tuesday night.
 
Results:
Dominican: 3
Illinois Tech: 0

How it Happened:
-At the start of the match, neither squad could break away, as DU and IIT were knotted at 10-10. Sophomore Kendall Esparza recorded an ace to give Dominican its first lead of the match.
-Both teams continued to battle, with neither squad gaining more than a three-point lead.
-With the Stars trailing 21-19, Junior Ty Geschke recorded back-to-back kills to pull the Stars level.
-DU took three of the last four points and prevailed in the first by a score of 25-22. Graduate Student Casey Goss and Geschke combined for 11 kills in the opening frame.
-The Stars surged out to a 3-0 lead at the start of the second set, but the Scarlet Hawks responded.
-Leading 10-9, Goss rattled off a 6-0 run behind the line to push DU's lead to 16-9. Goss' run included an ace.
-Illinois Tech answered with a 5-2 run, but Dominican countered via a 4-0 run by Junior Thomas Hirsch, putting the Stars up 22-14.
-Dominican held off the Scarlet Hawks, taking the second set by a score of 25-19. Esparza notched 4 kills in Set 2.
-The Stars achieved the upper hand at the start of the third set, parlaying a 5-1 lead into an 8-4 advantage on an attack error by IIT.
-With DU leading 10-8, Goss put together a 7-0 run behind the line that included kills by Sophomore Landon Kassulke and Esparza.
-Another strong serving run by Esparza, which put the Scarlet Hawks' serve receive under pressure, ballooned the Dominican advantage to 21-10.
-A solo block by Geschke sealed the sweep for the Stars, who won Set 3 by a score of 25-13. The win marks the fourth straight sweep and eighth straight win overall for Dominican.

Shining Stars:
-Sophomore Landon Kassulke earned Star of the Match with 31 assists and 2 blocks.
-Junior Ty Geschke posted 11 kills alongside 3 blocks and 7 digs.
-Graduate Student Casey Goss notched 8 kills and 7 digs.
-Sophomore Kendall Esparza totaled 8 kills, an ace, and 7 digs.
-Junior Grant Henderson led the Stars' defense with 8 digs.

  Leading the Way:
  Kills: Geschke (11)
  Aces: 4 Players (1)
  Blocks: Hirsch (4)
  Assists: Kassulke (31)
  Digs: Goss (9)

What's Next:
#2 Seed Dominican University Men's Volleyball improved to 20-5 (10-2 NACC) on the 2026 season. The Stars will travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to take on #3 Seed Aurora on the neutral site in the NACC Semifinal on Saturday, April 11^th. The start time for the match between the Stars and Spartans is to be determined.

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