ELGIN, IL – Junior Noah Liousfi recorded 24 kills including a career-high 16 in the match against Oakland City University for the Roberts Wesleyan University Men's Volleyball team Friday but the Redhawks dropped a pair of 3-1 decisions on the first day of competition at the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) National Championship Tournament at Judson University in Illinois.

Roberts (11-20) opened the tournament against top-seeded Jessup University and started well with a 25-21 win in the first set but dropped the next three sets by scores of 25-19, 25-16, 25-19 to fall.

After a short rest with back-to-back matches on the first day, the Redhawks fell behind early with a 25-19 loos in the first set to Oakland City but rallied for a 27-25 win in the second set to even the score. The Mighty Oaks rallied for 25-19 and 25-23 wins in sets three and four to win the match.

At 0-2 in the tournament, the Redhawks will hope for the right teams to win and a victory over host Judson Saturday for a chance to advance in the tournament.

Against Jessup, Liousfi led the team with eight kills while freshman Ryan DeJohn and sophomore Griffin Monrad added seven kills each for the offense. Freshman Landon Brouwer had 21 assists while Brouwer and junior Moises Jimenez combined for 10 digs to lead the defense.

Against Oakland City, Liousfi hit .324 and connected on his career-best effort for kills. DeJohn and sophomore Paul Fillion added eight kills each and fellow sophomore Kaiden Krchniak added seven kills for the offense. Brouwer handed out 38 assists and Jimenez led the defense with seven digs.