Chicago, Ill. - Illinois Tech women's volleyball celebrated Senior Day prior to their match with Wisconsin Lutheran Saturday afternoon at the Keating Center, before falling to the Warriors 3-1. The Scarlet Hawks fell to 3-7 in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play, and 4-18 overall. The Warriors improved to 4-6 in NACC play, and 8-14 overall.

The story of the day, however, were the five seniors who were honored before the match. Briar Moore, Maria Fernanda Alcantara, Stephanie Nguyen, Kelsey Starnes and Emily Graham were recognized individually on court and escorted by family members. Although the team still has three more regular season matches remaining, the team will miss the individual contributions of each of the departing seniors.

Wisconsin Lutheran 3 - Illinois Tech 1 (25-21, 22-25, 26-24, 25-21)

Illinois Tech trailed 4-1 early in set one, but was able to pull ahead 10-9 on an 8-5 run. The Scarlet Hawks held a three-point lead late in the set at 20-17, but an 8-1 run by Wisconsin Lutheran cemented their set one victory, 25-21.

The Scarlet Hawks responded in set two. After falling behind 14-10, the Hawks used a 10-3 advantage to jump in front 20-17. The teams traded points late in the set until Illinois Tech closed out the match with a 2-0 run for the 25-22 set two victory.

Set three was a back and forth affair. Down 5-0, the Scarlet Hawks rallied to tie the match at 6-6. Late in the set, Illinois Tech moved to set point at 24-22, but the Warriors closed out with a 4-0 run for the 26-24 set three victory.

Early in set four, the Scarlet Hawks found themselves in the lead at 8-5. But the Warriors took 13 of the next 17 points to jump ahead 18-12. The Hawks would close within one point late at 21-20, but Wisconsin Lutheran took 4 of the next five points for the 25-21 set four and match victory.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Alcantara paced the Scarlet Hawks with 14 kills and a .286 attack percentage.
• London Francis continued her strong play, adding 12 kills.
• Victoria Aspurez had a second consecutive game with 4 blocks to lead the team.
• Anna Elena Sofia Sebastio led Illinois Tech with 29 receptions, without an error.

Warriors Watch

• Kayla Wigley led Wisconsin Lutheran with 11 kills, while Johanna Andreae and Shannon Rusch each had 9 kills.
• Emma Incprero had 23 assists for the Warriors, to go along with 5 service aces.
• Amahra Matthai led the Warriors with 4 blocks.

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks return to the Keating Center Tuesday night, when the host Rockford at 7:00 PM in another NACC matchup.