Chicago, Ill. - After opening conference play with a road victory at MSOE, the Illinois Tech women's volleyball team was looking to put an end to a three-game Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) losing streak when they hosted Benedictine University Wednesday night at the Keating Center. The Scarlet Hawks narrowly lost the opening set, came back to win set two to pull even, but ultimately the Eagles were too strong on this night, as they won the next two sets for the 3-1 match victory. With the loss, the Scarlet Hawks fell to 1-4 in conference play, and to 9-10 overall. The Eagles improved to 4-1 in NACC play, and to 8-9 overall.
The Scarlet Hawks are by no means out of conference post-season contention, as they still have eight more NACC contests on the docket. But the early deficit has the Hawks on the outside looking in for the top eight spots that qualify for post-season tournament. The Hawks will have to make up ground over the next few weeks to put themselves into the conversation.
How It Happened
- Set One - Benedictine 27 - Illinois Tech 25: The opening set of the match was a battle that saw 13 tie scores and 8 lead changes. Neither team held a bigger lead than three points, with the Scarlet Hawks leading 7-4 early and the Eagles leading 23-20 late. With the Hawks down three points late, they went on a 4-0 run to move to set point at 24-23. But the Eagles staved off set point after an Illinois Tech service error, and then three of the next four points to claim the set one victory. Taryn Jones paced the Scarlet Hawks with four kills.
- Set Two - Illinois Teck 25 - Benedictine 21: With the teams tied at 3-3 early on in set two, the Scarlet Hawks were able to build a nine-point lead on the strength of a 12-3 run, giving the Hawks a 15-6 lead. With the Hawks still out in front by nine points at 19-10, the Eagles mounted a furious comeback, using an 11-5 run to pull within three points at 24-21. But Karla Trautmann Mendez would put an end to the Benedictine rally with a set-point kill to even the match at 1-1. Trautmann Mendez and Ana Jones led the Hawks with 4 kills each.
- Set Three - Benedictine 25 - Illinois Tech 18: Set three started out as a back and forth affair, and the teams wound up playing at even score 10 times throughout the set, with five lead changes. Neither team was able to open up more than a two-point advantage throughout the first half of the set. Illinois Tech held an early 3-1 lead, while Benedictine came back to own a 7-5 lead. The teams traded points throughout the first half, with the score tied at 14-14. From there a 7-0 run by the Eagles put them out front 21-14, and they held on for the seven-point third set victory. Trautmann Mendez added 5 more kills.
- Set Four - Benedictine 25 - Illinois Tech 15: The Scarlet Hawks fell behind early, and had to play catch-up throughout the early going. Trailing by six points at 9-3, the Hawks would pull within two points at 12-10 after a 7-3 run. The Eagles would regroup, however, and finished out the set on a 13-5 run to claim the match victory 3-1. Ana Jones added 3 kills for Illinois Tech.
Scarlet Hawk Standouts
Inside The Box Score
- Olivia McPherson paced the Eagles with 16 kills while adding 17 digs and 2 service aces
- Kiara McPherson with 30 assists, 2 service aces and 2 block assists
- Benedictine finished with a .106 attack percentage; Illinois Tech had an .055 attack percentage
- The match in its entirety saw 24 ties cores and 13 lead changes
Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks will hit the road for the first of two road matches, starting with a trip to Plymouth, Wisconsin on Saturday to take on the host Lakeland University Muskies at 12:00 pm in a NACC matchup.
