Chicago, Il., -- North Park Men's Volleyball opened their 2026 campaign at Carlson Gymnasium on Friday night, falling in three sets (13-25, 19-25, 19-25) to a high-powered Dominican University squad that is receiving votes in the national poll. Despite the loss, the Vikings showed flashes of resilience, particularly in a back-and-forth third set that featured 10 ties and eight lead changes.

The Stars came out firing in the opening frame, hitting at a blistering .652 clip. Dominican jumped to an early 5-0 lead before senior middle blocker Bobby Vaughn III put the Vikings on the board with a kill. Freshman Isaac Vroom added a service ace shortly after to trim the deficit, but the Stars' offense, led by Ty Geschke and Thomas Hirsch, proved difficult to contain. Dominican took the first set 25-13.

North Park adjusted in the second set, keeping the score much tighter with six ties and two lead changes. Sophomore Giovanni Serafini provided a spark off the bench, recording two quick kills on assists from senior Kevin Motallebi. Adekunle Adebayo also began to make his presence felt at the net, hammering home a kill to keep NPU within striking distance at 10-8. While the Vikings benefited from several Dominican service errors, the Stars' three total blocks in the set eventually allowed them to pull away for a 25-19 win.

The final set was the most competitive of the night. Freshman Josiah Walker made an immediate impact for North Park, recording back-to-back kills and a service ace to give the Vikings an early 5-4 lead. Senior Gerald Buhain Malana then took over at the service line, recording an ace and forcing a Dominican attack error to put North Park ahead 13-11.  Dominican would respond with a 5-0 run behind the serving of Thomas Hirsch to reclaim the lead. Late kills from Adebayo and Nolan Edkin kept the Vikings in the hunt, but the Stars closed out the match with a 25-19 victory.

The Vikings next match is set for Thursday, January 22nd when they travel to Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin.