Chicago, Ill. - With time winding down in conference play, the Illinois Tech women's volleyball team hosted Dominican University Thursday night at the Keating Center in a crucial match with post-season implications. The Scarlet Hawks were up to the challenge, sweeping the Stars 3-0, and in the process getting a leg up on Dominican in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) standings.

The win moved the Scarlet Hawks to 4-5 in NACC play, pulling them even with Dominican. However, with the head-to-head victory over the Stars, the Scarlet Hawks own the first tie-breaker should they both finish with identical conference records. If the season ended today, the Scarlet Hawks would own the 7th seed in the NACC post-season tournament, with the Stars moving into the 8th and final spot. However, the season isn't ending today, as the Hawks have four more conference matches to play over the next two weeks. The Scarlet Hawks could potentially move out of post-season contention, could maintain their position, or have an outside chance of moving into the 6th seed if the Hawks won out and got some help in other conference games. In other words, the Scarlet Hawks need to take care of their own business first, and see what happens.

How It Happened

• Set One - Illinois Tech 25 - Dominican 20: Wearing their pink jersey set in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness month, the Scarlet Hawks never trailed in the opening set, jumping out to a 10-1 lead early, then holding off the Stars when they pulled within three points at 19-16 before outscoring the Start 6-4 down the stretch to claim the set one victory. Karla Trautmann Mendez paced the Hawks with 4 kills.
• Set Two - Illinois Tech 25 - Dominican 20: While the Hawks never trailed in the opening set, the second set was a completely different matter. The set featured 12 tie scores, and the teams traded points throughout much of the first half of play of the middle set. The Hawks eventually built a three-point lead at 16-13 before a 3-0 run by the Stars tied the set at 16-16. The Scarlet Hawks would outscore Dominican 9-4 the rest of the way to open up a 2-0 match lead. Trautmann Mendez and Grace Reckamp each had 5 kills.
• Set Three - Illinois Tech 25 - Dominican 22: The Stars started out set three with a much-needed 5-1 run to help them try and get back into the match. Illinois Tech would counter with an 8-3 run of their own to pull ahead 9-8. The Scarlet Hawks would eventually open up a six-point lead at 22-16 before a late push by Dominican pulled them within two points at 24-22. The Scarlet Hawks would claim match victory on the next point however, courtesy of a Dominican attack error. London Francis had 4 kills for the Hawks.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Karla Trautmann Mendez with 11 kills and a .235 attack percentage while adding 2 blocks
• London Francis with 11 kills and a .240 attack percentage along with 2 blocks
• Grace Reckamp added 9 kills with 15 assists, 23 digs, 3 blocks and one service ace for good measure
• Lilia Donaldson recorded 7 combined blocks to go along with 4 kills
• Ana Jones with 5 kills, a perfect 16 for 16 in receptions while adding 3 blocks 

Inside The Box Score

• Dominican's Miriam Guler tallied 7 service aces on the evening
• The Scarlet Hawks finished with a .212 team attack percentage

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks will travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Saturday when they take on Wisconsin Lutheran at 12:00pm in another important NACC matchup.