Chicago, Ill. - After jumping out to a 1-0 lead in their non-conference match against St. Xavier, the Scarlet Hawks saw a lead slip away in the second set, and that was all the opening the Cougars needed, as they won the next three sets to win the match 3-1 Tuesday night at the Keating Sports Center. The Scarlet Hawks fell to 3-8 on the season. The Cougars improved to 6-5.

The Scarlet Hawks received solid individual performances from Grant Couper, who paced the Hawks with 10 kills. Elijah Johnson added 21 assists. But the Cougars were too strong on the front line, racking up 54 kills to 25 for the Scarlet Hawks.

St. Xavier 3 - Illinois Tech 1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-12)

• Set 1: The Scarlet Hawks would grab and hold an early lead in the opening set, holding a 7-4 lead until the Cougars used a 10-6 run to take a 14-13 lead. The Scarlet Hawks responded with a 5-0 run to retake the lead 18-14. The Cougars would pull within one point at 19-18, but the Hawks closed out the set with a 6-4 run. Grant Couper paced the Hawks with 5 kills.
• Set 2:  The Scarlet Hawks built a four-point at 13-9, but the Cougars would mount a comeback. A 10-4 St. Xavier run put the Cougars ahead 19-17. A 3-0 response by Illinois Tech allowed the Scarlet Hawks to retake the lead at 20-19. The Cougars rallied however, using a 6-1 run to close out their set two victory. The Hawks only had a combined 6 kills in the second set.
• Set 3: After the teams played even to start set three at 3-3, St. Xavier started imposing their will through their front line play. A 9-2 run by the Cougars gave them a 12-5 lead. The Scarlet Hawks would not get closer than four points the rest of the set, with the Cougars eventually taking a key third set victory by eight points. The Hawks would only record 5 kills in the set.
• Set 4: An early 2-1 lead for the Scarlet Hawks was quickly erased by St. Xavier. An 8-2 run by the Cougars gave them a 9-4 lead. The Scarlet Hawks would get as close as three points down at 10-7 before the Cougars would pull away, outscoring the Hawks 15-5 the rest of the way for the 3-1 match victory. Illinois Tech would only register 3 kills in the final set.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Grant Couper led the Hawks with 10 kills.
• Elijah Johnson with 21 assists.
• Jelani Kimoto led the Hawks with 4 blocks.

Cougars Watch

• Matt Pannala led all players with 16 kills while adding 4 blocks.
• Jan Lopuch with 12 kills and a .391 attack percentage.
• Drew Ehlers tallied 6 blocks.
• Cameron Daniels had 46 assists.

Inside The Box Score

• St. Xavier finished with a .265 attack percentage to the Scarlet Hawks .027.
• After tallying 11 kills in the opening set, Illinois Tech was held to just 14 kills over the final three sets.
• The Cougars won the block battle, 17-13.
• St. Xavier recorded 6 service aces, but their 20 service errors represented 27% of the Scarlet Hawks total points for the match.

Up Next 
The Scarlet Hawks open conference play this Thursday, when they travel to Lisle, Illinois to face the Benedictine Eagles at 7:00 PM in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) matchup.