Chicago, Ill. - The Illinois Tech men's volleyball team wrapped up regular season play with a conference match against Edgewood Saturday afternoon at the Keating Center. The Scarlet Hawks sent the Senior Day crowd home happy, sweeping the Eagles 3-0. The Scarlet Hawks head into the postseason with an 11-14 record overall, finishing 7-5 in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference regular season play. The Eagles (8-16), who had to win to qualify for the conference tournament, finished 4-8 in NACC play, losing the tie-breaker with Lakeland for the final tournament seed. 

Meanwhile, the Scarlet Hawks secured the number six seed in the conference tournament, and will travel to Lisle, Illinois on Tuesday night to take on number three seed Benedictine in a quarterfinals match. The Hawks lost a tough five-set match to the Eagles 3-2 back on February 22nd.

The Hawks were the beneficiaries of a monster game from sophomore Paul Henderson, who finished with 11 kills (3.67 kills per set) and a career-high 7 service aces.

Prior to the match, the team recognized three departing seniors as part of their Senior Day festivities: middle blocker Jackson Van Engen and outside hitters Grant Couper and David Singer. 

Illinois Tech 3 - Edgewood 0 (25-16, 26-24, 25-22)

• Set 1: The Scarlet Hawks never trailed in the opening set, jumping out to a 6-2 lead, using a 5-0 run late to extend their lead to nine points at 20-11, and maintaining the nine-point advantage for the end of the set.Grant Couper paced the Hawks with 4 kills in the set.
• Set 2: With their season on the line, Edgewood bounced back in a second set that saw 11 tie scores and four lead changes. After trading points up through the midpoint of the set, the Eagles slowly built up a late three-point lead at 20-17. But a 5-1 answer by the Scarlet Hawks allowed them to retake the lead at 22-21. After Edgewood forged a tie at 24-24, the Hawks won the final two points to claim the set two victory. Couper, Henderson and Jelani Kimoto each had three kills for the Hawks.
• Set 3: The Eagles would ramp up the pressure in the third set that featured 14 tie scores and eight lead changes. Edgewood opened the set with a 5-2 run. The Scarlet Hawks ran off the next five points for a 7-5 lead. The teams would trade leads over the next several points before squaring up late at 19-19. But the Hawks would double up the Eagles in points over the remainder of the set, using a 6-3 run to secure the set and match victory. Henderson led the Hawks with six kills in the final set.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Paul Henderson paced the Hawks with 11 kills, a 3.67 kills per set average (.400 attack percentage) and a career-high 7 service aces.
• Grant Couper with 8 kills and 14 receptions without error.
• Jackson Van Engen with 6 kills and 4 combined blocks.
• David Singer with 12 receptions without error and 7 digs.
• Alec Donald with 15 digs.

Eagles Watch

• Gavin Patterson with 8 kills, 18 receptions without error and 3 block assists.
• Ryder Hill-Zastrow with 8 kills.
• Owen Hartjes with 6 kills and 5 combined blocks.
• Will Gehrke with 28 assists.

Inside The Box Score

• Illinois Tech finished with a .228 attack percentage; Edgewood finished at .137.
• Illinois Tech had 12 service errors; Edgewood had 14.
• The Scarlet Hawks were 49 of 50 in receptions, for a .980 reception percentage.
• The Scarlet Hawks had 11 attack errors to 20 for Edgewood.

Up Next 
The number six-seed Scarlet Hawks are set to play in the quarterfinal round of the NACC Men's Volleyball postseason tournament Tuesday night at 7:00 PM at number three-seed Benedictine, at the Dan and Ada Rice Center in Lisle, Illinois. The Eagles defeated the Scarlet Hawks 3-2 during their regular season match back on February 22nd.