Chicago, Ill. - Inside the Keating Sports Center on Halloween night, the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks women's volleyball team welcomed the Concordia University Chicago Cougars for their final Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) regular season match of the 2023 season. In a must win match to keep their postseason hopes alive, the Hawks (7-18, 6-7) fought the Cougars (10-16, 4-9) through four sets. In the end, the Hawks prevailed, securing a 3-1 match victory.
With the win, the Hawks postseason hopes remain in the hands of the remaining NACC contest that will take place on Thursday, November 2.
How It Happened
Set One - Hawks 25, Cougars 16
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What started as a close set between the Hawks and Cougars, turned out in favor of the Hawks by the end. After being tied at 10-10, the Hawks began to pull away from the Cougars. Attacking errors on the Cougars as well as a block by Victoria Aspurez put the Hawks up 13-10. Following back-and-forth points the Hawks recorded back-to-back kills from Emily Graham. Later in the set, Karla Trautmann Mendez would get a kill followed by two kills from London Francis to extend the Hawks lead to 20-14. The set would finish out the Hawks going on a 5-2 run to take set one 25-16.
Set Two - Cougars 27, Hawks 25
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The Cougars quickly jumped out with a 6-2 lead to begin set two. The Hawks fought their way back with a 5-0 run to take the lead. During the run, Trautman Mendez recorded two kills, Briar Moore had one kill, and Michelle Navarro picked up a service ace. After both sides fought to take the lead, the Cougars once again ended up ahead, leading 16-12 at one point. After a timeout, the Hawks fought their way back to even the set at 17-17. Graham and Trautmann Mendez both recorded two kills a piece during this comeback. The remainder of the set was a back-and-forth battle as both sides attempted to get ahead of the other. At the end of set two, the Cougars pulled away with a 27-25 victory.
Set Three - Hawks 25, Cougars 19
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For the entirety of set three, the Hawks led the Cougars. Starting off strong, the Hawks went on a 5-0 run. During the run, Aspurez, Graham, and Moore all recorded a kill while Moore also picked up a service ace. The Hawks largest lead of the set came at 19-11 as they led the Cougars by 8 points. At the end of the set three, the Hawks defeated the Cougars 25-19.
Set Four - Hawks 25, Cougars 16
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The fourth set briefly started out in favor of the Cougars before the Hawks took control. The Hawks went on a 15-4 run to take a 16-8 lead. During this run, Anna Elena Sofia Sebastio and Kelsey Starnes recorded one service ace apiece. Michelle Navarro picked up one service ace, Francis had two, Moore had one, Victoria Vann had one, and Graham had one. The Hawks continued to hold the lead, eventually taking the set victory 25-16, winning the match 3-1.
Scarlet Hawk Standouts
Cougars Standouts
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Grace Heywood - 17 kills, 3 aces, 1 block, 17 digs
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Isabelle Vernengo - 34 assists
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Lili Hunt - 6 kills, 1 ace, 1 block, 1 assist, 12 digs
Inside the Box Score
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The Hawks led the Cougars in kills 51-38
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In aces the Hawks picked up 6 versus the Cougars 4
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6 blocks went in favor of the Hawks while the Cougars ended with 3
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Illinois Tech finished with 50 assists while Concordia University Chicago had 38
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In digs, the Hawks tallied 77 versus the Cougars 65
Up Next
The Hawks now await results from other NACC contests to see if they will enter postseason play. The Scarlet Hawks will need victories from two of three teams Thursday (Aurora University, Alverno College, and/or Lakeland University), to secure a spot in postseason action.
