Ripon, Wis. - Down 24-15 in the opening set of their season-opener against Luther College Friday night at the Ripon College Classic, the Illinois Tech women's volleyball team showed they would not be an easy out on this night, scoring the next five points to close within five points. And despite dropping the next point to lose the opening set 25-19, the Scarlet Hawks took the second set 25-23 and ultimately won the match 3-2. In the nightcap, the Scarlet Hawks battled hard before falling to Martin Luther College 3-1. The Scarlet Hawks open the season 1-1.

Game One - Illinois Tech 3 - Luther College 2 (19-25, 25-23, 19-25, 27-25, 15-10)

• Set one - with the set tied at 2-2, Luther went on an 11-3 run to open a 13-5 lead. The Hawks pulled within 3 points at 16-13. Luther responded with a 8-2 run to reach set point at 24-15. The Hawks made a late push to pull to within 5 at 24-19, but the Norse were able to win the next point to close out the set
• Set two - tied at 9-9, the Scarlet Hawks built a 21-15 lead. The Norse battled back to tie the set at 22-22, but the Hawks used a 3-1 run to close out set two and tie the match 1-1
• Set three - a 6-6 tie would be the closest the Scarlet Hawks would get in the third set. After Luther pushed to a 16-9 lead, the Hawks had an 8-4 run to close within 20-17. The Norse regrouped to score 5 of the next 7 points to go up two sets to one
• Set four - in a set that went extra time, Luther opened up a 15-12 lead. An 8-5 response by Illinois Tech gave the Hawks a 20-18 lead. The Norse clawed back with a 7-5 run to tie the match 25-25 before the Hawks won the last two points to tie the match 2-2.
• Set five - The Hawks opened with a 4-0 run, fueled by two service aces from Sasami Cavan. After extending their lead to 9-2, the Hawks saw Luther storm back with an 8-3 run to close within two points at 12-10. But the Scarlet Hawks took the final three points to claim the 3-2 match victory

Game Two - Martin Luther College 3 - Illinois Tech 1 (26-24, 25-19, 26-28, 25-23)

• Set one - trailing 19-13, the Scarlet Hawks went on an 11-5 run to tie the set at 24. Unfortunately the Knights recovered to win the next two points for the opening set win
• Set two - what looked like a promising second set to tie the match flipped on the Hawks later in the set. The Scarlet Hawks built a 12-5 lead, but the Knights, behind a 10-3 run, tied the set at 15-15, and then used a 10-4 run to take set two and open up a 2-0 match lead
• Set three - trailing 17-13, the Hawks forged several ties, the last at 26-26, before securing the final two points to pull within one set at 2-1
• In a heartbreaker of a set, the Scarlet Hawks held a late lead at 22-20. The Knights, however, closed out the set with a 5-1 run to take the final set and win the match 3-1

Scarlet Hawk Standouts (combined matches)

• Grace Reckamp with 20 kills, .286 attack percentage, 31 assists, 3 service aces and 23 digs
• London Francis led with 22 kills and 2.44 kills per set and 2 blocks
• Karla Trautmann Mendez with 21 kills, led with 4 service aces, 14 digs and 3 blocks 
• Sasami Cavan led with 52 assists, while adding 3 service aces and 19 digs
• Victoria Aspurez led with 7 combined blocks, while adding 12 kills
• Ana Elena Sofia Sebastio paced with 34 digs while adding 9 assists
• Sydney Wilson with 10 kills, 2 service aces, and 18 digs in her collegiate debut
• Karla Leonte with 6 combined blocks and 8 service kills in her collegiate debut

Up Next

The Scarlet Hawks resume play in the Ripon Classic on Saturday, taking on Mount Mary University at 10:00am, followed by their match with host Ripon College at 2:00pm.