AURORA, Ill. – In a rematch of last Saturday's regular season championship, the MSOE men's volleyball saw heartbreak yet again dropping another five-set battle to No. 1 seed Aurora University to end their season.

RESULT
No.2 MSOE RAIDERS – 2

No. 1 Aurora - 3

HOW IT HAPPENED

• MSOE (14-12, 10-2 NACC) took early leads after a kill Antonio Llona Baez making it 3-2 and at 5-4 when Tommy Clausz and Callan Harris teamed up for a block. While holding a small lead throughout the beginning stages of the first set, a kill from Harris at the 14-13 mark set the Raiders up perfectly until Aurora (26-4, 11-1 NACC) tied things at 19. The Raiders closed on a 6-2 run after kill from Matthew Schultz to seal the first set 25-21.
• The Raiders opened the second set on a 4-1 run before the Spartans tied it at four before commanding their lead. After getting out in front 19-15, the Spartans held steadily to win the set 25-19. Seth Thomas held lead the Raiders on a tear to begin the third set, totaling three kills while Clausz had two blocks to give the Raiders a 6-0 lead. A 4-0 run two points later with a Thomas kill and ace gave them a 10-2 lead before the Spartans clawed back to bring it to within one 17-16. After a 5-1 run that saw an ace from Harris, the Raiders closed on a 3-1 run with Parker Rings and Schultz teaming for the block to take the third set 25-18.
• After both team made mini-runs to begin the fourth, the Spartans took the advantage at the 9-8 mark and didn't look back the rest of the way to win 25-19 and force a fifth set. The Raiders exploded offensively to begin the final set with a 5-1 run, capped by an ace from Thomas. The Spartans began rolling on a 5-0 run to lead 8-7 at the side-swap before another ace from Thomas put the Raiders back ahead 12-11. After the two traded blows, the Spartans got the last laugh with the final point to end it, 16-14.

MSOE STAT TRACKER
Kills – Seth Thomas (14)
Digs – James Zippay (15)
Assists – Parker Rings (45)
Aces – Seth Thomas (3)
Blocks – Tommy Clausz (7)

WHO'S ON DECK
The Raiders end their season with an overall record of 14-12. After entering the main conference slate with an overall record of 1-8, the Red & White emerged as a massive threat in the conference, finishing with a 10-2 record and the regular season title in reach in the final game of the season where they ended tied for second after being voted fourth in the preseason.

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