CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Vikings men's volleyball team fell by a score of 1-3 to the Loras Duhawks on Saturday afternoon, moving to 2-6 in conference play and 12-13 overall. 

NPU got off to a slow start through the first two sets, losing by scores of 14-25 and 20-25 to a Duhawks side that combined to secure 21 kills with just 4 errors. Despite the deficit, the Vikings were serving the ball well to the tune of four aces. That proved to be a building block in a successful third set for North Park that saw them take their lone victory of the match, 25-23. 

The Vikings and Duhawks went back and forth throughout the early going of Set 3 until back-to-back aces from Noah Salazar led NPU to a slight 10-8 advantage, their largest of the set to that point. The sides reverted to trading blows back to an even score at 13-13 before a number of Loras errors and kills from Salazar and Sam Robinson gave NPU a 19-15 cushion. The Duhawks managed to draw back to within one heading into match point, but Salazar again rose to the occasion with a kill to secure the Vikings victory. North Park went on to lose Set 4 by a score of 12-25, though the 1-3 final tally marks an improvement on their last effort against Loras, which resulted in a Duhawks sweep.  

Emmanuel Eugene and Noah Salazar contributed a team-high of 8 kills, with Sam Robinson adding 6 on a .364 hitting percentage. Salazar and Eugene also led NPU in aces with 4 and 2 respectively. Robinson, on the other hand, served as the Vikings defensive anchor with 4 blocks including 1 solo block. Alejandro Condoy and Liam Miller split setting duties in the absence of Teddy Gedville, with Condoy leading the way with 17 assists to Miller's 14.  

What's Next? 

North Park heads to Rock Island next Wednesday to take on Augustana in a battle of the Vikings, with gametime set for 7:00 P.M. That will mark the second-to-last game for NPU's regular season, and with Augustana right behind North Park in the CCIW standings, it comes with playoff implications.