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Dominican University Athletics

THE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE OF THE DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY STARS OFFICIAL ATHLETICS SITE OF DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY
MVB NACC SF Preview vs. Aurora (2026)

#2 Seed Men's Volleyball Gets Set for NACC Quarterfinal Against #3 Seed Aurora

4/9/2026 9:17:00 AM

Milwaukee, Wis. – #2 Seed Dominican University Men's Volleyball prepares to travel to Milwaukee to take on #3 Seed Aurora on a neutral site in the NACC Semifinal.

Series History vs. Aurora:
All-Time Record / Streak: 11-4 / W1
-Dominican and Aurora first played on 2/28/2018 in River Forest, Ill. (W, 3-0).
-The Stars are 1-0 on a neutral site against Aurora.
-Earlier this season, the Stars took down the Spartans on the road in a five set epic on 3/18/2026 (18-25, 25-21, 19-25, 29-27, 15-11).
 
DU in Review:
-DU is 20-5 (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 3rd 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 extended their win streak to eight matches in the NACC Quarterfinal against #7 Seed Illinois Tech on Tuesday (25-22, 25-19, 25-13)
-Sophomore Landon Kassulke received Star of the Match honors 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.

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 290  kills for 3.22 kills per set. Geschke has added 141 digs and 29 blocks during the 2026 season. The junior is 5th in the conference in kills.
-Sophomore Kendall Esparza is 2nd on Dominican in kills with 258, which averages to 2.87 kills per set. The sophomore leads the Stars and the NACC in aces with 44.
-Junior Thomas Hirsch has been lights out through the middle for the Stars, tallying 233 kills and a conference-leading 96.0 blocks. Hirsch also leads the NACC in hitting percentage at .484.
-Sophomore Landon Kassulke is the leading playmaker for Dominican, notching 903 assists for 9.92 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 188 kills in 25 matches played.
-Junior Grant Henderson has held down the back row for DU, totaling a team-high 217 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:
-Aurora is 20-6 (10-2 NACC) on the 2026 season.
-The Spartans are riding a four match win streak heading into the NACC Semifinals and took down Edgewood in straight sets on Tuesday in the NACC Quarterfinal (25-11, 25-18, 29-27).
-Aurora registers 12.4 kills per set and hits at a .294 rate, while also having 11.1 digs per set and 2.3 blocks per set.
 
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