Chicago, Ill. - After playing their first twelve matches on the road, the Illinois Tech women's volleyball team finally played on home court Saturday night at the Keating Center, as they hosted Andrews University in the second half of a home and home series with the Cardinals first year program. Home cooking was definitely on the menu, as the Scarlet Hawks swept the Cardinals 3-0 to improve to 8-5 on the season. The Cardinals fell to 1-7.

Nine different Scarlet Hawks tallied kills on the evening, led by Victoria Aspurez with seven. The Hawks also finished with 18 service aces, including six by Anna Elena Sofia Sebastio. 

How It Happened

Set One (Illinois Tech 25 - Andrews 10): After earning the opening point on an attack error by Andrews, the Scarlet Hawks found themselves trailing 2-1 early in the opening set. But a kill by Karla Trautmann Mendez and a 4-0 run in serves by Sebastio gave the Hawks a 6-2 lead. The Cardinals were able to close within two points at 7-5, but that would be as close as they would get in set one. A Jordyn McLean service error for Andrews was followed by a 6-0 run in serves by Trautmann Mendez to open up a 14-5 advantage. The Scarlet Hawks would then close out the opening set with an 11-5 run. Grace Reckamp led the Hawks with 4 kills.

Set Two (Illinois Tech 25 - Andrews 9): After a 1-1 tie, the Scarlet Hawks rattled off the next nine points, with Sebastio recording 3 service aces among her 7 serves during the run, boosting the Hawks lead to 10-1. Trailing 12-2, the Cardinals did go on a mini 3-0 run to pull within seven points at 12-5. The Hawks regrouped, however, winning 3 out of every 4 points the remainder of the set to go up 2-0 in the match. Aspurez led the Hawks with 4 kills. 

Set Three (Illinois Tech 25 - Andrews 11): After falling behind 1-0 on a service error to open the third set, the Scarlet Hawks won the next five points to open a 5-1 lead, with Erin Nothdorf completing a 4-0 run in serves. The Cardinals would hover around four points down into the middle of the set, trailing 8-4, before Illinois Tech outscored Andrews 7-2 to take a 15-6 lead. Later, a 5-0 run by the Hawks, including a pair of service aces for Sebastio, allowed Illinois Tech to extend their lead to 21-8. Andrews would provide a push, scoring three points late, but the Hawks eventually closed out the set to earn match point. Ana Jones paced the Hawks with 5 kills. Orchid Som added 6 assists.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Victoria Aspurez led the Scarlet Hawks with 7 kills and a .500 attack percentage
• Grace Reckamp had 6 kills to go along with a .600 attack percentage. She also tied for the team lead in assists with 10
• Ana Jones finished with 6 kills and had 7 receptions without error
• Orchid Som had 10 assists to tie for the team lead in the match
• Anna Elena Sofia Sebastio led with 13 digs and 6 service aces, and had 9 receptions without error.

Inside The Box Score

• Kyra Ombao led the Cardinals with 4 kills
• The Hawks held an 18-1 advantage in service aces
• Illinois Tech finished with a .303 attack rate

Up Next
After starting the season as road warriors, the Scarlet Hawks will enjoy more home court action next week, starting with a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) matchup against Aurora University Wednesday night at 7:00pm at the Keating Center.