DUBUQUE, Iowa - The Rockford University men's volleyball team (2-14) fell in straight sets on the road Friday night to #15 Loras College (13-1). Although the Regents put up a good fight, ultimately the Duhawks proved to be too much for Rockford to handle. The Regents played extremely well in the first set, forcing the Duhawks to work for and earn every point along the way. Unfortunately, Loras showed why it is ranked in multiple polls and eventually pulled away for the 25-17, 25-13, 25-14 victory. Offensively Loras was very efficient with its attack, smashing home 40 kills on just 82 attack attempts, compared to 17 kills on 81 attack attempts for the Regents.
- The Duhawks got off to a fast start and flew out to a quick 5-1 lead in the first set.
- The Regents answered with a 3-1 run of their own, to pull back with two at 6-4. Josh Albers tallied a service ace, and Jose Padron recorded a kill to cap off the run.
- The back and forth nature of the set continued, with Loras scoring the next four points to extend their lead to six, at 10-4.
- Rockford was slowly able to chip away at the Duhawk advantage over the next several minutes, until the Regents were back to within two at 14-12. Isaiah Dixon and Connor McNear each had a kill and Jose Padron recorded a service ace over that stretch.
- With the Regents still trailing by just three points at 17-14, the Duhawks closed on an 8-3 run to win the set 25-17 and grab a 1-0 lead.
- The second set was extremely tight in the opening moments with the Regents holding a 7-6 lead. Isaiah Dixon, Jose Padron and Connor McNear all had kills for Rockford to begin the set.
- Unfortunately, from that moment on it was all Duhawks. Loras scored the next nine points as a part of a larger 14-1 run, to grab a 20-8 lead and seize control of the set.
- Rockford never got any closer than ten the remainder of the way and dropped the second set 25-13.
- The third set got off to a rocky start with the Regents quickly falling behind 10-4.
- Rockford was however able to fight and claw its way back to within four points at 13-9.
- Unfortunately, Loras promptly went on a 10-3 run to take a 23-12 lead.
- The Regents were unable to get any closer than ten the remainder of the way, dropping the third set 25-24 and the match 3-0.
