Aurora, Ill. - Looking to build another conference winning streak, the Illinois Tech men's volleyball team traveled to Aurora Wednesday night to take on a Spartans team that had only lost once in NACC play. When the night was over, the Spartans still only had one conference loss, as they defeated the Scarlet Hawks 3-0. The Scarlet Hawks dropped to 3-4 in conference play, and 7-13 overall. The Spartans improved to 7-1 in conference, and 15-5 overall.

Twenty attack errors by the Scarlet Hawks, including nine in the middle set, gave the Spartans room to work with to extend their set leads throughout the match.

Aurora 3 - Illinois Tech 0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-19)

• Set 1: The first half of the opening set was the most competitive stretch of the match, as it featured eleven tie scores and three lead changes. The Scarlet held a 6-5 lead after an Eli Sherman service ace. They came back from a 10-7 deficit to tie the set at 13-13 after a Jackson Van Engen kill. The set turned, however, when Aurora captured the subsequent two points to open up a 15-13 lead. The Hawks would get no closer than a two-point deficit, and the Spartans used a 4-0 run to close out the set. Van Engen led the Hawks with 5 kills.
• Set 2: The Scarlet Hawks held early leads in set two, culminating with a 5-3 advantage after a block-assist point from Van Engen and Paul Henderson. But an 8-2 run by Aurora put the Spartans in front 11-7. After Van Engen and David Singer assisted on a block to cut the Hawks' deficit to three points, they would not get closer. The Spartans would methodically add to their lead throughout the remainder of the match, never allowing the Scarlet Hawks a run of more than two points. Paul Henderson led Illinois Tech with 3 kills.
• Set 3: Despite not holding a lead in the final set, the Scarlet Hawks battled from an early deficit to keep the score within striking distance. After Aurora opened the set with a 6-1 lead, the Scarlet Hawks used a 5-0 run that featured two Grant Couper service aces and two kills by Riley Laite to tie the match at 6-6. The teams traded the next eight points to remain tied at 10-10. A 4-1 run by Aurora put them in front 14-11. The Hawks would battle back to close within one point at 15-14. But Aurora scored two points for every one point the Hawks earned the remainder of the set, closing out the match with a 10-5 run. Laite had 6 kills for the Scarlet Hawks.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Ryley Laite paced the Hawks with 9 kills and 8 digs.
• Jackson Van Engen with 7 kills and 3 block assists.
• Eli Johnson with 22 assists.
• Alec Donald with 8 digs and 23 out of 24 receptions.

Spartans Watch

• Josh McLellan with 19 kills and a .400 attack percentage to go along with 4 block assists. He led all players with 21 total points.
• Martin McKee with 5 block assists.
• Luke Dwyer with 35 assists.

Inside The Box Score

• Illinois Tech finished with a .077 attack percentage; Aurora finished at .287.
• The Scarlet Hawks had 12 service errors; the Spartans had 7.
• Set one featured 11 tie scores and 3 lead changes.

Up Next 
The Scarlet Hawks return home to the Keating Center on Saturday, March 23rd, when they host the Marian Sabres at 1:00 PM in a conference matchup.