Springfield, Ohio – For Valentines weekend, the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks men's volleyball hit the road and traveled to Ohio to take part in the Springfield Men's Volleyball Showcase 2025 hosted by Wittenberg University. On Valentines Day itself, the Hawks closed out opening day action against the Westminster College Blue Jays. Hoping to gain their first win of the season, the Hawks (1-7) battled the Blue Jays (7-8) to a five-set thriller and came out victorious with a 3-2 match victory.  

ILLINOIS TECH 25 - WESTMINSTER 21 

SET ONE: ILLINOIS TECH 25 – WESTMINSTER 21: The match started out in a first set thriller as the Hawks and Blue Jays were in an instant battle. In total, the set saw eight ties. After being tied at 5-5, the Blue Jays jumped out ahead and took a 14-8 lead. Although they were down by six, the Hawks were able to find their momentum to turn the action around when they went on a 7-0 run to take the lead at 15-14. Following a tie at 17-17, the Hawks led the rest of the set to close it out 25-21. Aaron Hanny led the Hawks through the set with four kills.  

SET TWO: WESTMINSTER 25 – ILLINOIS TECH 20: Just like set one, set two saw a back-and-forth battle, which included 10 ties. Following a 5-5 tie, the Hawks would hold the lead while the Blue Jays trailed close behind. Multiple ties and lead changes led to a 15-15 tie before the Blue Jays took the lead for the remainder of the set. A late surge brought the Hawks within two at 22-20, which included back-to-back kills from Riley Laite and Maximo Dowling and a service ace by Laite, but they were unable to continue the run, eventually dropping the set 25-20.  

SET THREE: ILLINOIS TECH 25 – WESTMINSTER 15: Action started out in favor of the Blue Jays, who took the first three points for the early lead, but once the Hawks found their stride, there was no looking back. After being tied at 6-6, the Hawks took over the set and would go on to win set three 25-15. During the set, Dowling recorded three service aces and two kills, Elijah Johnson had one service ace and two kills, Eli Sherman had one service ace, Hanny had three kills, and Laite had four kills.  

SET FOUR: WESTMINSTER 25 – ILLINOIS TECH 22: Although the Hawks started out with the lead following a kill by Hanny and a service ace by Laite, the set quickly turned in favor of the Blue Jays, who took the lead at 3-2 and never looked back. The Hawks would remain close throughout the set, coming with one point on multiple occasions and even tying the set two separate times, but the Blue Jays remained ahead. Just as a kill from Sebastian Dominguez would make the set a 1-point set, the Blue Jays closed out set four action with back-to-back points to take the set 25-22.  

SET FIVE: ILLINOIS TECH 15 – WESTMINSTER 11: Going the distance, the match came down to the fifth and final set between the Hawks and Blue Jays. The first point went to the Blue Jays before the Hawks took control. After being tied at 1-1, back-to-back service aces by Elijah Johnson put the Hawks on top and they refused to let up, leading the remainder of the way. With the final point, the Hawks took set five 15-11, earning their first match victory of the 2025 season!  

SCARLET HAWK STANDOUTS 

Riley Laite – 17 kills, 4 service aces, 10 digs 

Aaron Hanny – 15 kills 

Bryan Evans – 4 kills 

Elijah Johnson – 3 service aces, 2 blocks, 21 assists, 10 digs 

Maximo Dowling – 3 service aces 

Jelani Kimoto – 4 blocks 

Sebastian Dominguez – 2 blocks 

Matthew Michler – 20 assists 

Zachary Baus – 6 assists, 13 digs 

UP NEXT 

The Springfield Men's Volleyball Showcase 2025 returns tomorrow, February 15th, when the Hawks play two games. Game one against Eastern Mennonite University is scheduled to begin at 1:30 PM CT. Game two against the host, Wittenberg University, is scheduled to begin at 4:00 PM CT.