DUBUQUE, Iowa – North Park men's volleyball fell in straight sets to undefeated and national No. 4 Loras College on Saturday afternoon.
After a rough first set that featured only five kills from the Vikings offense and a .706 hitting percentage form the Duhawks, the Vikings turned things around in the second set.
Loras scored three of the first four points of the second set before a kill by junior middle blocker Sam Robinson and a Loras attack error tied things at 3-3. After a few more points went the Duhawks' way, kills by sophomore pin hitter Pablo Ocasio and junior outside hitter Vicente Cabrera tied the match, 6-6. The Vikings managed to take a lead of the undefeated opponent one a service ace from Ocasio, 8-7, and again on a kill by Cabrera, 9-8. However, the Duhawks would rattle off five-straight points to regain the lead and never give it up, winning the set 25-21.
The third set also saw the Vikings take a few early leads. After pulling ahead 3-1 on kills from senior setter Teddy Gedville, junior outside hitter Ty Ingrao, and Ocasio, the Duhawks would tie things up 3-3 before consecutive kills by Ocasio and a Loras attack error gave the Vikings their biggest lead of the match, 6-3. North Park would keep things close through most of this set, featuring kills by freshman outside hitter Gerald Malana in the middle of the set. However, when the Vikings had a 16-15 lead on consecutive kills from Robinson, Loras would go on a six-point run to steal away all the momentum, winning the third and final set 25-18.
- Ocasio led NPU with 10 kills
- 12 digs for senior libero Kaleb Patrick
- Loras had Corey Matotte (14) and Dorian Fiorenza (12) in double-digit kills
- Four blocks for the Duhawks' Roman Rothermel
North Park (7-17, 0-6 CCIW) returns home this coming Wednesday, March 27, for a match against No. 11 North Central. First serve is set for 7:00 PM.
