Lisle, Ill. - Making their first ever appearance in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Men's Volleyball Tournament, the No. 6 seeded Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks men's volleyball team traveled to take on the No. 3 seeded Benedictine University Eagles in a quarterfinal match-up. Much like their regular season match, the Hawks (12-14, 8-5) went the distance with the Eagles (15-10, 10-3) The only difference? The Hawks took the match victory! After five thrilling sets, the Hawks came out on top 3-2 to secure their spot in the NACC Semifinals.
The Hawks came out strong, taking the first two sets (25-20, 32-30) over the Eagles. During sets three and four, the Eagles came back (25-21, 25-23) to force a fifth and final set to determine who would come out on top and advance to the NACC Semifinals. To continue to build on an exciting match, the Hawks and Eagles would push set five into extra points. In the end, it would be the Hawks who came out on top, taking the final set 18-16.
How It Happened
Set One - Illinois Tech 25, Benedictine 20
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The quarterfinal match started off as a back-and-forth battle in set one. After the Eagles went up 7-5, the Hawks took off on a 10-2 run to take the lead for the remainder of the set over the Eagles. The run began with three straight points. After an Eagle service error and attack error gave the Hawks two points, Grant Couper would pick up his first service ace of the match to put the Hawks ahead 8-7. The set would then be tied at 8-8 before the Hawks picked up 5-straight points during the 10-2 run. The five points came from a Riley Laite kill off an Eli Sherman assist, two eagle attacking errors, a Jackson Van Engen kill off a Sherman assist, and a double block from Laite and Jackson. A kill would go in favor of the Eagles before the Hawks finished off their run with a Van Engen kill off a Sherman assist and a point from an Eagle attacking error. The Hawks comfortably led for the remainder of the set, taking set one 25-20.
Set Two - Illinois Tech 32 - Benedictine 30
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Although the Eagles led for much of set two, the Hawks stayed close, slowly working their way to catch up to the Eagles. With the Eagles just two points away from set point, the Hawks would go on a 5-point run to jump ahead. During the run, Van Engen picked up a kill, Paul Henderson recorded two kills, both off of Elijah Johnson assists, Couper recorded a block, and the Hawks picked up a point off an Eagle attacking error. The two sides then went back and forth, with neither wanting the other to take the set victory. In the end, it would be the Hawks who came out on top 32-30, picking up back-to-back points, one off an Eagle service error, and one from a Van Engen service ace.
Set Three - Illinois Tech 21 - Benedictine 25
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After being tied early on, with the last tie at 8-8, the Eagle would jump out ahead of the Hawks in set three with a 7-2 run to take a 15-10 lead. The Hawks would fight to come back, coming within 3-points of the Eagles, but were never able to get any closer as the home team eventually took set three 25-21.
Set Four - Illinois Tech 23 - Benedictine 25
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If even possible, seat four was an even closer contest between the two sides. Throughout the entirety of the set, there were a total of 14 ties. After being tied at 12-12, the Eagles briefly jumped out ahead of the Hawks, building up to a 4-point, 18-14 lead after going on a 6-2 run. A 3-point run by the Hawks, with points coming from a Henderson kill off a Sherman assist, a Sherman kill off a Couper assist, and a Eagle attacking error, brought them within one point of the Eagles. Eventually, the set would be all tied up again, this time at 21-21. For a minute, the Hawks took the lead, with their last lead being at 23-22, before the Eagles closed out the set with back-to-back-to-back points. Set four ended 25-23 in favor of the Eagles.
Set Five - Illinois Tech 18 - Benedictine 16
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Pushing the contest to the distance, the Hawks and Eagles made sure to leave everything out on the court. The Hawks began with the early 4-2 lead before the Eagles tied it up at 4-4. Briefly, the Hawks would go back ahead, taking a 7-5 lead, but it didn't last long before the Eagles took three straight points to tie the set before taking a one-point lead. The set then became a back-and-forth battle, with both sides trying to extend their lead over the other. Starting at 8-8, the set would see 9 ties. The final tie came at 16-16 before two Eagle errors gave the Hawks the 18-16 set five victory and ultimate match victory.
Scarlet Hawk Standouts
Eagles Standouts
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Chase Olson - 19 kills, 2 service aces, 8 blocks
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Tucker Lambert - 15 kills, 5 blocks
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Brannen Almarales - 14 kills, 17 digs
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Eoin O'Toole - 2 service aces
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Spencer VanEngen - 2 service aces, 5 blocks, 51 assists
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Jordan Cardenas - 3 assists, 14 digs
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Zander Feudner - 2 assists, 15 digs
Inside the Box Score
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The Eagles barely led the Hawks in kills 61-60
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In total attacks, the Hawks finished with 164 while the Eagles had 179
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The Hawks tallied a .207 hitting percentage and the Eagles had a .162 hitting percentage
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Both teams recorded 59 assists
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In service aces, the Eagles led 9-4
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For total blocks, the Hawks had 11 while the Eagles had 25
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The Hawks led in digs 70-68
Up Next
The Hawks will continue their tournament run as they now prepare to travel to Aurora, Ill. to take on the No. 3 seeded Aurora University Spartans in the NACC Semifinals on Thursday, April 11. First serve of the match is scheduled for 7:00 PM
