Chicago, Ill. - For a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) contest, the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks men's volleyball team hosted the Lakeland University Muskies inside the Keating Sports Center. The Hawks (5-10, 1-1) put up a dominating set one performance before the Muskies (3-9, 0-2) fought hard to take set two. The Hawks were able to close out the match, taking set two and set three, to seal a 3-1 match victory, marking their first conference victory of the season.
How It Happened
Set One - Hawks 25, Muskies 11
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Starting off close, the Muskies led 3-2 before the Hawks went on a 13-5 run. The Hawks first picked up three straight points with two kills from Jackson Van Engen off Elijah Johnson assists, and a Riley Laite service ace. The Muskies would then get two points before the Hawks picked up three more straight points. This time the points came from an Aaron Hanny kill and two Van Engen service aces. One point would go towards the Muskies before the Hawks recorded four points in a row. Two kills were recorded by Grant Couper and one kill by Elijah Johnson, all off Aaron Hanny assists. The fourth point came from a Muskies attacking error. The Muskies would go on to get back to back points before the Hawks picked up three points, one from a bad Muskie set, one from a Muskie attacking error, and one off a Laite kill. Here the Hawks led the Muskies 15-8. To end the set, the Hawks went on a 10-3 run. During the run, the Hawks recorded seven straight points. The points came from two Muskie errors, a Couper kill, a Johnson service ace, a Laite kill from a Alec Donald assist, a Van Engen kill, and a Hanny kill from a Johnson assist. The Hawks took set one 25-11.
Set Two - Hawks 21, Muskies 25
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The second set was a closer contest as the set saw nine ties. The Hawks only lead of the set came with the very first point off a Laite kill. From there, the set would either be tied or the Muskies would be ahead. The Hawks were able to stay within reach for much of the set until the Muskies separated themselves with a 5-1 run. Unable to come back, the Hawks dropped set two 25-21.
Set Three - Hawks 25, Muskies 17
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Wasting no time, the Hawks were off to a hot start in set two. With Colton Farrell as the server, the Hawks picked up six straight points. Points were recorded by a David Singer block, a Laite kill off a Singer block, a Van Engen block, a Muskie attacking error, a Farrell service ace, and an Eli Sherman kill. Later in the set, the Hawks went on a 7-1 run to extend their lead. During this run, points were recorded by a Hanny kill, two Muskie attacking errors, a Farrell kill, a Laite service ace, a Van Engen kill from a Sherman assist, and a Muskie ball handling error. The Hawks comfortably led the rest of the set as they won set three 25-17.
Set Four - Hawks 25, Muskies 18
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For the fourth set, the Hawks led the entirety of the way. The Hawks took an early 6-2 lead with points coming from a Muskie attacking error, a Laite kill, a Van Engen block, a Hanny kill from a Johnson assist, a Laite kill from a Johnson assist, and another Laite kill, this time from a Van Engen assist. Throughout the set, the Muskies came within two points multiple times, but never any close as the Hawks would stay ahead. To end the set, the Hawks finished with a 6-1 run. The final points came from a Farrell kill off a Sherman assist, two Muskie attacking errors, a Muskie service error, and back-to-back service aces by Johnson to win set four 25-18.
Scarlet Hawk Standouts
Muskies Standouts
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Eli Weinrich - 9 kills, 10 digs
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Ben Busakacchi - 8 kills, 1 service ace, 2 blocks, 1 assist, 6 digs
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Colin Kenney - 7 kills, 4 digs
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Jakob Donohue - 1 service ace, 2 blocks
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Jordan Davis-Troller - 3 blocks
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Chase Anderson - 25 assists
Inside the Box Score
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The Hawks tallied 52 kills versus the Muskies 31
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10 aces were recorded by the Hawks while the Muskies had 2
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In blocks, the Muskies finished with 6 compared to the Hawks 5
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The Hawks led in assists 49-26
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For digs, the Hawks finished with 48 while the Muskies finished with 31
Up Next
The Hawks travel to De Pere, Wis. on Saturday, March 2, to take on the St. Norbert College Green Knights in NACC action. First serve is scheduled for 12:00 PM.
