Defenders Defeat V-Hawks
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Viterbo (4-7) | 26 | 16 | 13 | 25 | 1 |
|
Dordt (IA) (3-4) | 24 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 3 |
SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – The Viterbo University Men's Volleyball team fell on the road to Dordt University (Iowa), 3-1 (26-24, 25-16, 25-13, 25-27) on Friday night. The V-Hawks drop to 4-7 (0-1 CCAC), while the Defenders improve to 2-5.
After Alex Kratzenstein started the match with a kill, Caleb Koza and Ethan Davis added kills of their own with a variety of Defender errors to bring the score to 12-8. After kills from Dane Kerkman and Guven Gedikoglu, Dordt went on a run to take the 18-17 lead. Kratzenstein led the offense, and combined with Koza for a block, to take back the 24-21 advantage. Dordt tied it again at 24-24, but Kerkman ended the set with back-to-back blocks, assisted by Davis and Logan Amdur.
Kerkman started the second set with two more blocks, assisted by Koza and Amdur, and Gedikoglu's solo block put them ahead 7-3. Dorst then scored eight straight for the lead, and despite a small run that included an Amdur ace and Koza kill, DU extended their lead to 17-11. Kratzenstein and Kerkman added late kills, but it wasn't enough as Viterbo lost, 25-16.
The V-Hawks had a spread out offensive attack to start the third, but Dordt still built a 13-6 lead. Gedikoglu, Koza, and Kerkman produced kills, but the Defender lead continued to inflate, and they took the third, 25-13.
Kratzenstein started the fourth set with a solo block, followed by Davis and Kerkman kills. However, the V-Hawks found themselves behind, 12-7. Kerkman's kill and Gedikoglu-assisted block started to chip away at the lead, and after Dordt led, 24-17, a Kerkman solo block started a run that included two Davis kills and two more Kerkman blocks, both assisted by Amdur. The match was tied at 25-25, but two straight kills from Lukas Van Groningen ended the game.
Davis led Viterbo with nine kills, while Koza had five on .625 hitting. Amdur dished 29 assist to go with four blocks, Juan Banda had 16 digs, and Kerkman posted eight blocks. Nicodemus Elliott had 19 kills for Dordt.
Viterbo returns to action on Saturday, February 17 at Morningside University (Iowa).