Contact: Ava Yurchison, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302
 
Box Score
 
Mar. 24, 2017- The North Central College men's volleyball team secured its fifth straight win in three sets over the Loras College Duhawks Friday evening, inside Gregory Arena.
 
In the first set, North Central dominated the offense hitting .462. With the game at 20-17 in favor of the Cardinals, sophomore Bozhidar Kolev served for a 4-0 run including one service ace. A kill from the Duhawks was followed by a kill from sophomore Jake Braceros and assisted by sophomore Raymond Kraus to bring the Cardinals to set-point. Loras would get one more kill, though another Braceros and Kraus combination and the set was over 25-19.
 
The next two sets were close with both teams rallying back-and-forth for the momentum. With the score ties at 21, two kills by freshman Jason Eslinger gave North Central the upper hand. Loras would return one point before Braceros would find another kill. A late four point run, allowed the Duhawks to gain momentum, though two straight Cardinal kills at the hands of Braceros closed out the set 29-27.
 
North Central and Loras found themselves edging out points one after another in the third set, always within two points of the other. An attacking error from Loras combined with a service ace from freshman Michael Trunzo sparked a 6-3 run for the Cardinals bringing the score to 17-13. Though, the Duhawks sided out and tied the set at 23. Though kills from Eslinger and Braceros proved fatal for Loras and North Central concluded the set winning 25-23.
 
Braceros got a match-high of 14 kills while Eslinger earned 13 and freshman Brendan Crawford had eight. Kraus connected with 35 assists and seven digs.
 
The Cardinals look to extend their winning streak tomorrow as they host a tri-match with Fontbonne University at 12 p.m. and Illinois Institute of Technology at 5 p.m. inside Gregory Arena.