Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
Mar. 9, 2024 - Taking on the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin leader in No. 5 Loras College (17-0, 4-0 CCIW), the North Central College men's volleyball team (12-4, 2-2 CCIW) went ahead early, but never overcame the Duhawk response as Loras won 3-1 on Saturday afternoon inside Gregory Arena.
A block from Cooper Lundal and Austin Scott secured the first points of the opening set. After each team went on a 4-1 run, a kill from Jared Moser gave the Cardinals a slight 11-10 advantage. That kill opened up a 6-1 rally by North Central. The Duhawks answered to come back within a point, 20-19, but Caelan Koth's kill from Tyler Donovan kept the Cardinals in front. Maintaining a lead the rest of the way, Lundal's kill clinched a 25-23 first set victory for North Central.
The Cardinals began set two on a 4-1 run, thanks to kills from Lundal, Donovan, and Moser followed by a Loras attacking error. A block from Mitchell Hester and Scott capped off another 4-1 rally by the Cardinals, taking a 9-5 lead. Again, the Duhawks responded by evening the score at 13. Another 4-1 run, this time from Loras, was answered by a North Central rally as they came within one, 19-18. The Duhawks closed out the second set by scoring five of the final seven points to win, 25-21.
With the match tied at 1-1, both teams traded points early as a kill from Lundal tied set three at 10. Kills from Lundal, Moser, and Donovan, capped off with the Cardinals' lone ace of the match, put North Central ahead by three, 15-12. Both teams went back and forth as two Loras service errors put the Cardinals on top, 21-19. From there, the Duhawks rattled off six of the set's final eight points to take a 2-1 lead in the match, winning 25-23.
Needing to win the fourth set to stay alive in the match, Moser knotted the set at 5-5 early on. Again, the teams traded points until a 5-2 rally from Loras put them up by five, 18-13. Another kill from Moser and a Duhawk error brought the Cardinals back within four, 22-18, but Loras secured the fourth and final set, 25-19.
Moser led North Central with 17 kills, followed closely by Lundal with 14. Donovan dished out 42 assists and tallied 11 digs in the match. Lundal and Hester each totaled a solo block and three block assists in the contest. Dorian Fiorenza led all players with 20 kills on the day.
North Central heads to Illinois Wesleyan University (10-9, 1-3 CCIW) on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals put their 6-0 all-time record against the Titans on the line at 3 p.m. inside the Shirk Center.
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