Chicago, Ill. – On Saturday, October 19th, the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks women's volleyball team hosted their second home tri-match of the 2024 season inside the Keating Sports Center when they welcomed the St. Norbert College Green Knights and the No. 19 University of Chicago Maroons (AVCA WVB Poll) for a day full of volleyball. Unfortunately for the Hawks (11-12, 3-5), the day did not go as planned as they dropped both matches, falling to the Green Knights (13-11, 7-1) 3-2 and the Maroons 3-1 (20-5, 3-2). 

Starting off the day, the Hawks took on the Green Knights in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) action. After picking up back-to-back set victories to begin the contest, the Hawks were in high hopes. Set three would be a close contest, seeing extra points, but would mark the turning point for the Green Knights. After securing set three, the Green Knights went on to reverse sweep the Hawks, taking the match 3-2.  

The middle match saw the Green Knights take on the Maroons. After four sets, the Maroons defeated the Green Knights 3-1  

In the last and final match of the day, the Hawks were back in action to take on their southside neighbors. The Maroons proved to be too much for the Hawks, defeating the home team in straight sets 3-0.  

MATCH ONE: ST. NORBERT COLLEGE 3 – ILLINOIS TECH 2 

(19-25, 23-25, 27-25, 25-16, 15-6) 

• Set One  
  • Nine ties (1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 5-5, 6-6, 7-7, 8-8, 9-9, and 10-10) and three lead changes. 
    • Illinois tech took the lead for the rest of the set with a 6-0 run starting with tying the set at 10-10. During the run, the Hawks picked up points off a Karla Trautmann Mendez kill from Sasami Cavan, back-to-back bad sets by the Green Knights, an attack error by the Green Knights, a kill by London Francis from Grace Reckamp, and a kill by Trautmann Mendez from Reckamp.  Holding onto their lead, the Hawks took set one 25-19 after going on a 4-1 run. Points from the run came from two bad sets by the Green Knights, a Reckamp kill, and an attack error by the Green Knights.  
• Set Two 
  • 12 ties (2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, 7-7, 8-8, 11-11, 12-12, 14-14, 22-22, and 23-23) and four lead changes 
    • A back-and-forth battle through the whole set, both sides fought until the end. The Hawks would take the lead early in the set with a 4-0 run to lead 11-8. Points came from a Victoria Aspurez kill from Cavan, a Trautmann Mendez kill from Cavan, a Green Knight bad set and a Green Knight attacking error. The lead didn't last long as the Green Knights went on a run of their own, tying the set and taking the lead. The Hawks stayed within reach and were able to close out the set with a 9-3 run to win the set 25-23. The final two points of the set were recorded by a Trautmann Mendez kill from Reckamp and a block from Lilia Donaldson and London Francis.  
• Set Three  
  • Five ties (18-18, 19-19, and 23-23) and zero lead changes 
  • After trailing early on, the Hawks made a comeback in set three, first tying the match at 18-18. Although the Green Knights stayed ahead, the Hawks remained close behind, tying the set two more times. Staying close, the Hawks were able to push set three into extra points, but it would be the Green Knights who ended up on top, taking set three 27-25.  
• Set Four 
  • No ties or lead changes 
  • After winning set three to push for extra sets, the Green Knights found their stride. The visitors started off set four with a 9-2 run over the Hawks. Attempting to make up the deficit, the Hawks would come within two points at 13-11, but the Green Knights broke the Hawks hopes of tying the set by going on a 5-0 run. Set four ended in favor of the visitors 25-16.  
• Set Five 
  • No ties or lead changes 
  • The Green Knights kept up their offensive stride, beginning set five with a 4-0 run. The closest the Hawks would come to the Green Knights in the final set was a 4-2 after picking up back-to-back points from an Ana Jones kill off a Reckamp assist and a block by Aspurez/Francis. In the end, the Green Knights pulled off the reverse sweep, defeating the Hawks 15-6 in set five and taking the match 3-2.  

MATCH TWO: UCHICAGO 3 – ILLINOIS TECH 0 

(25-9, 25-18, 25-17) 
Non-conference match-up 

• Set One 
  • No ties or lead changes 
  • The No. 19 ranked Maroons began with the lead and never looked back in the first set after starting with a 6-2 run. The Hawks struggled to get any offense going, with back-to-back points being their longest run of the set when Francis recorded a kill from Reckamp and Anna Elena Sofia Sebastio picked up a service ace. After the Hawks picked up their eighth point of the set, the Maroons went on a 9-1 run to close it out 25-9, taking the set.  
• Set Two 
  • Two ties (2-2 and 3-3) and two lead changes 
  • With the first two points going in favor of the Maroons, the Hawks were able to take the next three from a Maroon service error, an Aspurez service ace, and a Maroon attack error, giving the Hawks their first lead over the Maroons for the day. Unfortunately, the lead didn't last long as the Maroons took the next six points to lead for the rest of the set. The Hawks would come within one at 8-7 and 9-8 but were unable to tie the set anymore. The Maroons picked up the 25-18 set victory with back-to-back points. 
• Set Three 
  • Four ties (2-2, 8-8, 9-9, and 10-10) and one lead change 
  • Action started out in favor of the Hawks as Trautmann Mendez picked up a kill from a Cavan assist followed by an attack error by the Maroons to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead. The Maroons quickly tied it up, but the Hawks would go back ahead with a 5-1 run. Points during the run came from a Maroon service error, a block by Karla Leonte, a kill by Trautmann Mendez from Leonte, a Reckamp service ace, and a kill by Leonte. Eventually, the Maroons fought their way back, tying the set and taking the lead with a 12-2 run between points 6-8 and 17-10. The run proved to be too much for the Hawks, putting them in a deficit they were unable to come back from, resulting in the match sweep with a 25-17 set victory going to the Maroons.  

SCARLET HAWK STANDOUTS (COMBINED) 

• Karla Trautmann Mendez – 19 kills, 2.38 kills per set, 12 digs, 1.50 digs per set, 1 total block 

• London Francis – 16 kills, 2.00 kills per set, 41 total attacks, .293 attack percentage, 7 total blocks 

• Grace Reckamp – 13 kills, 1.63 kills per set, 21 assists, 2.63 assists per set, 4 service aces, 15 digs, 1.88 digs per set, 1 total block,  

• Sasami Cavan – 29 assists, 3.63 assists per set, 1 service ace, 19 digs, 2.38 digs per set 

• Anna Elena Sofia Sebastio – 1 service ace, 29 digs, 3.63 digs per set 

• Ana Jones – 5 kills, 10 digs, 1.43 digs per set, 1 total block 

• Victoria Aspurez – 5 kills, 1 service ace, 4 total blocks 

• Karla Leonte – 4 kills, 2 total blocks 

• Lilia Donaldson – 3 kills, 4 total blocks 

UP NEXT 

The Hawks will return to action on Thursday, October 24th when they host the Dominican University Stars inside the Keating Sports Center for a NACC match. The Hawks will wear pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 PM.