Chicago, Ill. - Riley Laite had a career-high 22 kills, Elijah Johnson tied a career-high with 45 assists and made one incredible third-ball save, and the Illinois Tech men's volleyball team outlasted Concordia University Wisconsin in a five-set thriller 3-2 Saturday afternoon at the Keating Center. The win helped even the Scarlet Hawks' record in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play to 1-1, as the Hawks improved to 3-8 overall. The Falcons fell to 0-2 in conference and to 2-11 overall.

Laite stuffed the stat sheet on this afternoon. In addition to the 22 kills, he also had 6 service aces, including three in a row early in set two that helped propel the Hawks to the set two victory to tie the match at 1-1, and setting the stage for the five-set dramatics. Laite also added 13 digs and one solo block for good measure.

Johnson matched his career-high in assists with 45, tying his performance in matches against Mount Union on February 24th, 2024, and most recently against at St. Norbert on March 2nd, 2024. But the highlight of Johnson's day came in the fifth and deciding set. With the Scarlet Hawks holding a narrow 5-4 lead, Johnson sprinted to the back wall in the Hawks' zone to save a third ball, bumping the ball backwards and just clearing the Falcons' side of the net. The save and subsequent volley eventually led to a Scarlet Hawks point after a CUW attack error, giving the Hawks a 6-4 lead and forcing CUW to call their first timeout of the fifth set. The Hawks would ride the momentum from that play to a 15-11 fifth set win to seal the match victory.

Lost in the excitement of the Johnson save on the third ball was an equally as impressive first-ball save by Alec Donald to start that play, as he tracked down a deflected block attempt by the Hawks to the far sideline and dove in front of the west bleachers
to save the first ball. This allowed Laite to reach the second touch, and setting in motion the third-ball save by Johnson.

The Scarlet Hawks fell behind in the match 1-0 when they couldn't close out the Falcons after moving to set point at 24-23. The Hawks would get another crack at set point at 25-24, but the Falcons would win the next point, and eventually take the opening set 29-27. The set featured 16 tie scores and 3 lead changes. Laite and Maximo Dowling each had 6 kills in the set.

In the second set, with the score tied 2-2, Laite ran off three consecutive service aces to give the Hawks a 5-2 lead. The Hawks would never trail the remainder of the set, and rolled to a 25-16 set two victory. Laite added 4 kills in the set.

Set three saw the Hawks jump out to a 20-9 lead but had to hold off a late Falcons' rally, as CUW pulled within five points at 24-19 before Jelani Kimoto closed out the set for Illinois Tech with a kill, giving the Hawks a 2-1 lead in the match. Laite added 8 more kills to his tally for the match.

CUW would regroup in set four. The set was closely contested, with neither team able to gain more than a two-point advantage throughout most of the set. CUW would open up a 20-17 lead late, but the Hawks would rally to tie the set at 23-23. The Falcons would win the next two points to close out set four, 25-23, evening the match at 2-2 and setting up the fifth set dramatics.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Riley Laite with a career-high 22 kills, while adding 6 service aces, 13 digs, 27 receptions without error and 1 solo block
• Elijah Johnson tying a career-high in assists with 45, while adding 3 kills, 3 service aces and 3 digs
• Maximo Dowling set a career-high in kills with 14 while finishing with a .314 attack percentage and adding 7 digs
• Colten Farrell with 9 kills and 3 block assists

Inside The Box Score

• Lucas Beres had 9 combined blocks for CUW
• Reid Scott paced the Falcons with 14 kills
• Hayden Hurley had 40 assists for CUW
• The entire five-set match featured 32 tie scores and 13 lead changes
• Illinois Tech finished with an attack percentage of .245; CUW had a .195 attack percentage

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks have a quick turn-around, as they travel to Plymouth, Wisconsin this afternoon for a 2:00pm match against NACC opponent Lakeland University in a rare Sunday afternoon match.