Plymouth, Wis. - Looking to change their fortunes in conference play, the Illinois Tech women's volleyball team traveled to Plymouth, Wisconsin Saturday afternoon to face a Lakeland team that was off to a 4-1 start in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) action. The Scarlet Hawks dropped the opening set in a close contest, but then rattled off three wins in a row to down the Muskies 3-1. With the victory, the Hawks received a much-needed conference victory to improve their NACC record to 2-4 and evened their overall record at 10-10. The Muskies fell to 4-2 in NACC play and to 6-15 overall.

Junior Ana Jones had a big all-around game for the Scarlet Hawks, tying for the team lead in kills with 14 to go with a .400 attack percentage, leading the team in service aces with four, while recording 11 digs. Sophomore Karla Trautmann Mendez also had 14 kills.

How It Happened

• Set One - Lakeland 25 - Illinois Tech 22: Illinois Tech jumped out to an early 7-1 lead, and looked like they would earn an opening set victory. With the Hawks leading 10-5 however, the Muskies went on a 12-2 run to open up a 17-12 lead. The Scarlet Hawks would claw back and tie the set at 22-22, but the Muskies won the final three points for the opening set victory. 
• Set Two - Illinois Tech 25 - Lakeland 22: With the teams even at 5-5, the Scarlet Hawks used a 7-2 run to open up a 12-7 lead. The Muskies would pull within two points late and temporarily stave off set point at 24-22, but a kill by Trautmann Mendez clinched set two for the Hawks, and evened the match at 1-1.
• Set Three - Illinois Tech 25 - Lakeland 19: An early 2-1 lead by Lakeland was erased by the Hawks with a modest 5-2 run to go up 6-4. The Muskies would get to within one point one more time, trailing 8-7. From there, the Hawks would open up leads of six point throughout the set, culminating in the 25-19 set three final score.
• Set Four - Illinois Tech 25 - Lakeland 23: Lakeland, looking to tie the match at two sets a piece, got off to a hot start in set four, running out to an 8-3 lead. The Scarlet Hawks would chip away however, eventually pulling even at 10-10. The teams traded points for a significant stretch of the set before the Muskies used a 4-0 run to open up a 20-17 lead. The Hawks would tie the set three times down the stretch, including a 3-0 run that erased a 23-22 Lakeland lead and gave the Scarlet Hawks the set four victory and match point. 

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Ana Jones with 14 kills, a .400 attack percentage, 4 service aces, and 11 digs
• Karla Trautmann Mendez with 14 kills and 2 block assists
• Grace Reckamp with 8 kills, 17 assists 10 digs and 2 block assists
• Sasami Cavan with 26 assists, 2 service aces and 7 digs
• Anna Elena Sofia Sebastio with 19 digs and 6 assists
• Victoria Aspurez with 7 kills, 2 total blocks and 6 digs
• Sydney Wilson with 3 service aces and 7 digs
• Lilia Donaldson with 3 blocks

Inside The Boxscore

• The Muskies Susana Stevens led all players with 16 kills
• Lakeland's Ryan Figi recorded 20 digs, 3 service aces and 8 assists
• The Muskies Briuna Harper with 5 total blocks
• Illinois Tech had a .202 attack percentage; Lakeland finished at .134 percent

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks will continue their brief two-match road swing when they travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Thursday, October 17th to face Alverno College at 7:00pm in a NACC matchup.