Chicago, IL – Illinois Tech celebrated Senior Day in style, delivering a dominant 3-0 sweep (25-22, 25-20, 25-22) over St. Norbert at the Keating Sports Center. The Scarlet Hawks put together an efficient offensive performance and showcased their defensive resilience to cap off the special occasion with a well-earned victory. With this win, Illinois Tech improved to 10-15 on the season and 5-5 in conference play, while St. Norbert dropped to 9-15 overall and 3-8 in NACC competition. The victory was particularly meaningful for Illinois Tech's senior players,
Alec Donald,
Bryan Evans,
Eli Sherman, and
Riley Laite, who were honored before the match.
How It Happened
Tech looked to senior
Eli Sherman to set the offense, and he responded with eleven first-set assists.
Maximo Dowling was instrumental in the early going as well, delivering two early kills, which helped Tech jump out to an early 5-2 advantage. St. Norbert relied on Bennet Kornaus to keep them competitive, as he found ways to exploit gaps in Illinois Tech's defense. Midway through the set, the Scarlet Hawks began to separate themselves, capitalizing on four
Paul Henderson kills and multiple unforced errors from the Green Knights. Illinois Tech would ultimately close out set one with a 25-22 win on a service error from St. Norbert.
In the second set, Illinois Tech's defensive intensity ramped up, making it difficult for St. Norbert to establish any offensive rhythm.
Jelani Kimoto was a force all set long, recording four kills and two aces, which helped to control the play during the second set. Sherman also stepped up, registering a crucial kill that kept Illinois Tech in the driver's seat and continued to run the offense with nine assists. The Green Knights struggled to find consistency, committing key errors that allowed the Scarlet Hawks to extend their lead once again. Illinois Tech maintained firm control throughout, keeping St. Norbert at bay and ultimately taking the set 25-22 on a kill from
Alec Donald, set up by Sherman.
The Scarlet Hawks took control of the third set from the start, determined to complete the sweep on Senior Day. Senior
Alec Donald played a key role in maintaining Illinois Tech's dominance in the third set, delivering 3 kills and hitting .500 in the set. His energy and execution at the net forced St. Norbert into a timeout midway through the set as the Hawks held a commanding 11-4 lead. Out of the timeout, the Scarlet Hawks remained relentless, continuing to stretch the lead. As Illinois Tech neared match point, St. Norbert made a last-ditch effort to tighten the score, but Donald capped off his standout performance with another authoritative kill, with the help of another Sherman assist. The Scarlet Hawks secured the set 25-20, sealing the sweep.
Scarlet Hawk Standouts
Inside the Box Score
- Illinois Tech's offensive efficiency: .360 hitting percentage compared to St. Norbert's .294
- Total team blocks: St. Norbert held a slight advantage with 5, while Illinois Tech had 3
- Lead changes: 6 in the first set, 2 in both the second and third sets
- Key factor: Illinois Tech's ability to limit errors, as they committed 11 to St. Norbert's 16
Up Next
The Scarlet Hawk's will finish their regular season with two road conference match ups next week as they battle for a NACC Tournament berth. The first match up next week will take place on Wednesday April 2
nd at Wisconsin Lutheran at 7:00pm
