Mequon, Wis. - The Illinois Tech women's volleyball team traveled north on Saturday afternoon, looking to even their conference record to 2-2 in their match at Concordia Wisconsin. It was the Falcons, however, who came away victorious, as they swept the Scarlet Hawks 3-0. The Hawks instead dropped to 1-3 in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play, and to 9-9 overall. The Falcons improved to 3-1 in NACC competition, and to 8-9 overall.

How It Happened

• Set One - Concordia Wisconsin 25 - Illinois Tech 18: An early 2-1 lead by the Scarlet Hawks would be their high water mark in the opening set. An 8-1 run by the Falcons erased the Hawks' lead and put the home team in front for good. The Scarlet Hawks would close to within two points at 15-13, but the Falcons doubled up the Scarlet Hawks the rest of the set with a 10-5 run. Karla Trautmann Mendez paced Illinois Tech with 3 kills.
• Set Two - Concordia Wisconsin 25 - Illinois Tech 15: The Scarlet Hawks again jumped out to an early lead, this time 2-0 in set two. A 4-0 counter by the Falcons gave CUW a 4-2 lead. The Hawks would close their gap to 6-5, but another run by the Falcons of 7-0 put CUW up 13-5. The teams would play fairly even down the stretch of set two, but the Hawks could not make a significant dent on their deficit, and the Falcons came away with the all-important set two victory. Erin Nothdorf led the Hawks with 3 kills. 
• Set Three - Concordia Wisconsin 25 - Illinois Tech 17: Set three saw the Scarlet Hawks trail early, falling behind 4-0 and then 14-4 to CUW. Illinois Tech would use a 6-0 run to pull within 4 points at 14-10. The four point deficit for Illinois Tech would be the closest they would get the rest of the way, with Concordia Wisconsin sealing the match victory after an 11-7 run. 2 kills each for Trautmann Mendez and Taryn Jones.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Karla Trautmann Mendez led Illinois Tech with 5 kills
• Lilia Donaldson with 4 block assists
• Anna Elena Sofia Sebastio with 19 digs while recording 2 service aces
• Grace Reckamp with 17 kills

Inside The Box Score

• CUW's Paige Stickney led all players with 9 kills
• Noelle Smith of Concordia Wisconsin with 4 service aces and 7 block assists
• Concordia Wisconsin finished with a .107 attack percentage; the Scarlet Hawks had a -.027 attack percentage
• There were only 3 tie scores and 3 lead changes the entire match

Up Next

• The Scarlet Hawks return home on Wednesday, October 9th, when they host Benedictine University at 7:00pm at the Keating Center. The Eagles come into the match with a 3-1 record in the NACC.