Chicago, Ill. - In their final non-conference matches of the 2024 season, the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks men's volleyball team hosted the University of Mount Union Raiders and the North Central College Cardinals to a tri-match. In game one, the Hawks (4-9) defeated the Raiders (5-4) 3-2 after going to a five set thriller. Then, in the final match of the night, the Hawks (4-10) and Cardinals (11-2) put together an impressive match-up. In the end, it was the Cardinals who would take home a 3-0 victory.
How It Happened
Game One: Illinois Tech 3 - Mount Union 2
(25-17, 22-25, 25-19, 17-25, 15-10)
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Going the distance, the Hawks and Raiders took five sets to decide a winner. In set one, the Hawks comfortably held the lead over the Raiders. During the set the Hawks went on a 5-0 run that included a kill from Jackson Van Engen, three Raider attacking errors, and a double block from Elijah Johnson and Van Engen. The Hawks took set one 25-17.
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Set two went in favor of the Raiders. After a back-and-forth start, a 4-0 run by the Raiders between 7-6 and 10-6, created enough distance between the and the Hawks to give the Raiders the lead for the remainder of the set. The Hawks would come within one point late in the set, but were unable to overpass the Raiders as the visitors took set two 25-22.
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In set three, the Raiders led the Hawks early on before a 7-0 by the Hawks with Paul Henderson as the server changed the momentum of the set. During the run, Henderson recorded one service ace and a kill off a Johnson assist. Johnson and Kimoto recorded a double block, David Singer recorded two kills off Johnson assists, Kimoto recorded a solo block, and the Raiders had an attacking error. From there, the Hawks controlled the game the rest of the way, ultimately winning set three 25-19.
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After a back-and-forth start, the Raiders went on a 9-1 run to go ahead of the Hawks. A 5-0 later in the set only extended their lead over the Hawks. The Hawks were unable to make up the deficit as they dropped set four 25-17.
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For the fifth set, after a 2-2 tie, the Hawks led for the rest of the set after a 3-0 run put the Hawks ahead 4-2. The Hawks picked up the three points off a Bryan Evans kill, a Singer kill off a Johnson assist, and a bad set from the Raiders. The Raiders came within one point at 11-10, but the Hawks closed out the set with a 4-0 run with points coming off two Raider attacking errors, a Johnson service ace, and a Grant Couper kill from a Johnson assist. The 15-10 set five victory gave the Hawks the 3-2 match victory.
Scarlet Hawk Standouts
Raiders Standouts
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Jack McClure - 20 kills, 1 service ace, 10 digs
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Aaron Armour - 1 service ace, 8 kills, 2 blocks
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Jacob Nussdorfer - 8 kills, 9 digs
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Cameron Weeg - 6 blocks
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Will Heeney - 38 assists
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Peyton Koszelak - 29 digs, 2 assists
Inside the Box Score
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The Hawks edged the Raiders 51-50 in kills
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Illinois Tech recorded 5 aces while the Raiders had 2
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13 blocks were recorded by the Hawks and 11 by the Raiders
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In assists, the Hawks finished with 50 versus the Raiders 44
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For digs, the Hawks had 70 and the Raiders had 64
Game Two: North Central 3 - Illinois Tech 0
(25-22, 25-22, 26-24)
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Set one between the Hawk and Cardinals was a battle from the start, and would last the entirety of the match. The set saw its first tie at 4-4 after a Van Engen kill off a Johnson assist and a Cardinal attacking error. The Hawks took their first lead of the contest at 7-6 after a Cardinal service error and a Riley Laite service ace. An 8-1 run by the Cardinals put them back on top 14-8. Momentum then turned in favor of the Hawks as they went on a 6-0 run to tie the set at 14-14. During the run, points came off a Van Engenkills from a Johnson assist, three double-blocks from the duo of Van Engen and Johsnon, and two attacking errors by the Cardinals. Later, the Hawks took a brief one-point lead at 19-18 after a Cardinal bad set, a Laite kill from a Johnson assist, and a Cardinal attacking error. After the Cardinals went back on top, the Hawks took one last lead at 22-21 after back-to-back kills from Laite and Van Engen off Johnson assists. The Cardinals closed out the set with four straight points to take set one 25-22.
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A service error on the Cardinals gave the Hawks the first point of the set before the Cardinals took four straight points to take the lead. The Cardinals continued to hold onto the lead as the Hawks slowly built up momentum and came within reach. A 7-2 run by the Hawks eventually put the Hawks ahead 17-16. During the run, Couper recorded two kills, one off a Johnson assist and one off a Alec Donald assist. Two points came off Cardinals errors. Laite recorded a kill off a Johnson assist, and Johnson recorded two service aces. The Cardinals immediately tied the contest back up before taking the lead for the rest of the set, taking set two 25-22.
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Set three remained another close contest, this time going into extra points to determine a winner. A 4-2 start by the Hawks gave them the early lead, but the Cardinals didn't let that last long. The Cardinals then took a brief 6-5 lead before the Hawks went back on top. The Hawks led until the set would be tied at 15-15 after the Cardinals went ona 3-0 run. The set then went back-and-forth for a minute before the Hawks went back on top with three straight points. The points came from a Cardinal service error, a Couper kill off a Donald assist, and a Henderson kill off a Johnson assist. After a few points, a 4-0 run by the Cardinals put them ahead 23-21. The Hawks fought to tie the contest at 23-23, and once again at 24-24, but were unable to take back the lead. In the end, the Cardinals ended up on top 26-24, taking the match victory.
Scarlet Hawk Standouts
Cardinals Standouts
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Jared Moser - 13 kills, 1 service ace, 1 block, 1 assist
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Austin Scott - 12 kills
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Caelan Koth - 6 kills, 2 service aces, 1 assist, 10 digs
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Tyler Donovan - 2 service aces, 1 block, 36 assists, 15 digs
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Mitchell Hoster - 3 blocks
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Danny Smithers - 11 digs
Inside the Box Score
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The Cardinals led in kills 41-35
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Illinois Tech edged North Central in service aces 6-5
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In blocks, the Cardinals finished with 5 while the Hawks had 4
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For assists, the Cardinals ended with 39 versus the Hawks 33
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52 digs were recorded by the Cardinals while 47 were recorded by the Hawks
Up Next
The Hawks now turn their focus to Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play for the rest of the 2024 season. The Hawks will return to the court on Tuesday, February 27th, when they host the Lakeland University Muskies inside the Keating Sports Center. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 PM.
