De Pere, Wis. - Despite dropping all three matches at the St. Norbert College Invitational this past weekend, the Illinois Tech women's volleyball team faced some strong competition to help prepare them for the start of conference play, which kicks off with an early season match against the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) this Thursday night at the Keating Sports Center. 

How It Happened
The Scarlet Hawks opened the weekend with a match against Wisconsin-Platteville Friday night, dropping the first two sets 25-16 and 25-17. The Hawks came back to take set three 25-20 before falling in the fourth set 25-19 to lose the match 3-1. Briar Moore paced the team with 11 kills. Kelsey Starnes finished with 13 digs and three service aces. Victoria Vann netted three blocks. Sasami Cavan distributed 30 assists.

On Saturday, the Scarlet Hawks opened day two with a match against Bethel (Minn.). The Royals handed Illinois Tech a 3-0 defeat, winning by scores of 25-16, 25-17 and 25-17. Maria Fernanda Alcantara led with seven kills while adding two blocks. Sasami Cavan finished with 25 assists. Kelsey Starnes had 13 digs, and Stephanie Nguyen had two service aces.

Following the Bethel match, the Scarlet Hawks immediately faced off against Carroll University. The third and final match of the weekend trip to Wisconsin was the most competitive of the bunch, extending to five sets before the Scarlet Hawks eventually fell by the score of 3-2. The Hawks were edged out in the opening set 26-24. Illinois Tech responded with back-to-back set victories in sets two and three by scores of 25-23 and 25-20 respectively. The Pioneers would rebound in set four for a 25-18 set victory, setting up a deciding fifth and final set, with Carroll coming out on top, 15-8. London Francis led the way in the final match with 12 kills. Briar Moore had four service aces. Sadie Harrington had three blocks. Grace Reckamp paced the team in assists with 17, and Kelsey Starnes added 28 digs.

At the conclusion of the invitational, Moore was among eight players from all participating teams named to the 2023 St. Norbert Chick-fil-A Invitational all-tournament team.

Scarlet Hawks Standouts - Tournament Play

• Moore finished the weekend with 26 kills, 5 service aces and 42 digs while earning all-tournament team honors
• Alcantara had 16 kills over 7 sets played, good for a team-leading 2.29 kills per set
• Cavan totaled 61 assists and 6.78 assists per set
• Starnes paced the team with 54 digs while adding 4 service aces
• Sadie Harrington and Victoria Aspurez tied for the team lead in blocks with 4.

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks return home for their home-opener and conference-opener this Thursday, September 14th when they take on MSOE at 7:00 PM at the Keating Sports Center.